I knew very little about the Lady Jane Grey before picking this book up. The title of the book caught my attention and I wanted to learn more. I am sure I had read short snippets about her life in the various histories of England that I have read, but I could not have told you her story.
The story of Lady Jane Grey reminds me of the famous quote by Danton “Oh, it were better to be a poor fisherman than to meddle with the government of men.”
Tallis notes from the start that she considers Lady Jane to be an official Queen of England whose reign lasted 13 days 9 of which were publicly known.
Tallis presents the story of Lady Jane as the pious young woman who was surrounded by others who wanted to use her place in the line of succession as a means to power. She was manipulated and pushed into a path she would not have taken on her own, which ultimately led to the crown at the age of 17 and her execution.
Tallis does a great job in portraying the religious nature of Jane especially at the end of her life when given the opportunity to convert to Catholicism. She did not show empathy for those around her who converted in an attempt to save their lives. She saw it as a badge of honor to remain devoted to her beliefs.
I enjoyed reading this book and learned more about the time period it examined and the sad fate of Lady Jane Grey. It does make me want to read other books addressing the life of Jane Grey. In this book it was presented as if Jane had no opinion but to become Queen against her will. I would like to see if other historians present it in the same manner.
Overall a good book that I rate 4 out of 5 stars.
Thomas Aquinas is credited as one of the greatest proponents of natural law. During his time in Cologne he was taught by Albertus Magnus. Magnus used the teachings of Aristotle in his mentorship of Thomas Aquinas.
Samuel Adams believed in American Independence from Great Britain. He is one of the most well know Son's of Liberty. On August 1, 1776 he gave a speech to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Hefei, China Thursday 6:00AM
The rising sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. The darkness of night was about to give way to the light of day. The sleeping city would soon be bustling with activity completely unaware of what had occurred while it slept.
Zhao Kai stood outside a small warehouse looking building. For all of the modernization that had been occurring in China this building had been skipped. At least on the outside. It appeared old and nearly abandoned but the inside told a different story. Before Kai entered the building he glanced at the rising sun. This was his favorite moment of the day. The blinding light of the sun was a weapon that he used literally.
On numerous occasions he would take a prisoner to a spot where there was an unobstructed view of the rising sun. Then he would bind them in such a way that they had to stare directly into the sun. If he did his job right they would not be able to close their eyes and would return to their prison cells blinded for life. If he didn’t just kill them. That punishment would not be on the table today but perhaps tomorrow. He liked ...
