Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir

This next book in the Six Tudor Queens series tells the story of Jane Seymour, third wife of King Henry VIII. This fictionalized tale of Jane’s life begins at her childhood home of Wulfhall and, in time, we see how Jane came to serve as a maid-of-honor for the Queen—Katherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife. When she arrives, the King’s pursuit of Anne Boleyn, another of Katherine’s maid’s-of-honor, is already well underway. Jane remains fiercely loyal to her beloved Queen Katherine, even after she is forced to leave her and serve Anne, instead. When Anne is unable to provide a son for the King, he sets his sights on Jane, and marries her eleven days after Anne’s beheading. Jane was able to give Henry the son he so greatly desired, but died shortly thereafter.

I still haven’t read the first book in this series, but I enjoyed the second very much. I was excited to read about Seymour, hoping it would be as enjoyable as the book about  Boleyn.

Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen swept me back into the Tudor era and kept me enthralled the entire time. The fanciful element of Jane being haunted was a nice addition to the story; it was never over the top, and didn’t detract anything from the main story. It was presented in such a way as to be believable that would Jane might feel haunted, and I enjoyed reading those portions.

The real Jane Seymour left behind no letters, so little is known about her thoughts on events that took place during her time at Court and, later, as Queen. Despite that, Weir has written a wonderful novel that makes fine use of the facts known about Jane, her family, and the time she spent with Henry.

Filled with rich imagery and careful attention to detail, Tudor fans are sure to love reading about Henry VIII’s third bride… I certainly did!

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Ballantine Books via Netgalley.

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Author: Alison Weir
Title: Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen
Series: Six Tudor Queens #3
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: May 15, 2018 by Ballantine Books
Rating: 5 stars

Other books in this series:

• Katherine of Aragón, The True Queen (Six Tudor Queens #1)
• Anne Boleyn, a King’s Obsession (Six Tudor Queens #2)

About the Book

A novel of the devout young woman who became the unwilling object of King Henry VIII’s ardor–and the mother of his only son. In this third book in the epic Six Tudor Queens series, the acclaimed historian and bestselling author brings new insight to this dramatic story, showing how pure fear for her life determined Jane Seymour’s actions.

25-year-old Jane Seymour wants nothing more than to become a nun. But her ambitious father has forced her to live at court as lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon, a fellow-Catholic whom she soon comes to love and admire. So Jane is appalled when King Henry shunts Katherine aside in his lustful pursuit of Anne Boleyn, but even more so when he takes Anne’s life in his rush to wed–Jane herself!

Unwilling to marry but terrified to resist Henry’s advances for fear she might share Anne’s fate, and propelled by her family, Jane becomes Queen of England a mere ten days after Anne’s execution. She knows she must produce a male heir without fail. Her very life depends on it.