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List Price: $6.99 | | Publisher: Jove
Salesrank: 314197
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
With a plain face, Jane Seymour has no suitors and few hopes. Then she is granted a position at court as maid of honor to Queen Catherine. There, Henry VIII ignores his aging wife, showering favor on the dark beauty Anne Boleyn, soon to be his new queen. But he tires of stubborn Anne, and his wandering eye falls on plain Jane. Although she cares for Henry, she must not let herself be swept away by his attentions. For she intends to win not only his heart but also the greatest prize of all-the crown.
Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour (Tudor Women Series) Reviews:
Great Book! 
2008-08-29 - If you are interested in this part of history you will enjoy this book. I read the other Bolyn Girl and was interested in more information about Henry's next wife. This book was both enjoyable and informative.
Dull and duller ... 
2008-02-22 - As the subtitle states, this is the story of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife. Given the king's lively reign, I anticipated an exciting read. What I encountered, instead, was a dull subject made duller by the storytelling.
Perhaps the reason so little has been written of Jane Seymour is that there's is little to write about. Certainly this fictional account of her life has me believing this is the case.
She spent an uneventful childhood as the oldest daughter of a middle class family, who lived in Savernake Forest, England. She was obedient, quiet and insecure.
The author attempts to engender sympathy by making Jane's world one in which her family feeds her insecurities when they aren't ignoring her altogether. Had they been cruel, this approach might have worked. Instead, they were a typical medieval family with typical aspirations for their female children.
There just is no story to Jane's childhood. Yet it accounts for about one-third of the book.
When Jane finally goes to court, she is, of course, overshadowed by the stronger personalities of Anne Boleyn and Henry. Another third of the story is lost as Jane attempts to appease all.
Finally, as the ending approaches, Henry disposes of Anne and marries Jane. This is Jane's moment to shine - as peacemaker in a troubled reign and as the mother - if only for a few days - of a healthy baby boy, which was all-important to Henry. But rather than focus on these few years of her life, the author rushes through the final (and possibly, the only exciting) part of her story. She dies - probably from complications from the birth of her son, the kings grieves, and the book ends. Meh.
So is it the subject of the story or the storytelling that's to blame for this rather dull read? I imagine it's a little of both. But any writer who can't get excited about her subject should lay down her pen.
Not bad...for a third wife.
2008-01-05 - Even though I have spent the last eight years of my life focusing on the life of Anne Boleyn and the last two on Katherine of Aragon I decided to put some focus on the life of Jane Seymour. Although I knew I would probobly fine less material on Jane then i would her predeccesors i was shocked that i found only this novel by a practically unknown author! The author gave a convincing portrayel of a women that i already thought of as a bore. Through out the story jane never forgets to remind us that she is no where near as beautiful as Anne. She constantly shows us her own insecurities and low self-esteem even after after she becomes queen. Historians now try to paint Jane as a strong women who knew what was going on at court but this novel I believe tells us more of the truth. Jane had no clue! If you really want a good Tudor novel I would suggest anything by Philipia Gregory. Or if you want to read a novel with a diffrent take on our old favorites, try Threads: the reincarnation of Anne Boleyn by Nell Gavin.
Inaccurate and badly researched 
2007-08-11 - Lets begin with the one inaccuracy that really bugged me. To write a novel on Jane Seymour one should research this lady's family as best as possible. Not that many facts remain on the Seymour family.... BUT: The author puts in the story of Edward Seymour's first wife, Catherine Fillol, having an affair with his father, Sir John Seymour. Did the author's stop reading there? Edward banished his wife into a convent, disinherited her two sons and as soon as Catherine was dead he married Anne Stanhope. (Before the eye of the king fell on Jane!) This important fact is nowhere to be found in this book, Edward and Catherine remain married till Jane's death in 1537. And it goes on and on. Another thing that bugged me was Anne Boleyn's supposed "beauty" that the author is using ad nauseam to explain why the king wanted her. In fact back then Anne was not considered beautiful. Her dark hair, slender body and dark skin was against the beauty ideal of the fair, blue eyed buxom girl that was favoured back then. The king adored Anne for her wit, her elegance, her graceful bearing.....nothing of which is mentioned here. The Jane of this book is an annoying, whiny and arrogant fool who was no "better" than Anne Boleyn, in fact she was worse in my opinion. For her an innocent woman had to die, an innocent girl lost her mother and several innocent men died. So much for sweet and gentle Jane. Big disappointment.
Great book, interesting insights
2007-03-21 - I enjoyed all of the books in this series, but especially this one on Jane Seymour. She is one of the least understood Queens, and I enjoyed Laurien Gardner's interpretation.
