A review by larissadistler
L'innocente by Alison Weir

4.0

I admit that I have sort of a fascination with Jane Grey. She was born into a time where it was very difficult to be a woman and maintain a sense of self, while remaining respectable. Lady Jane was far ahead of her time and had she been allowed to rule, England would probably be in a different state than it is now.

This is my first novel by Alison Weir. Generally she writes non-fiction and she is very good at it. I expected her fiction to be closer to Hilary Mantel, richly detailed and still thoroughly enjoyable. I was slightly disappointed in that this novel was not quite as detailed an account of the life of Jane Grey and I was hoping for. I was also off put by how intelligent Jane sounds at the age of four. Jane was a very gifted child, but I highly doubt she had the reasoning capabilities Weir's Jane shows at the age of merely four.

Overall, this was an enjoyable novel. The perspective shifts between several characters and the effect is a pretty well rounded account.