The Sisters Who Would be Queen - Leanda de Lisle Audiobook

Written by Leanda de Lisle
Read by Wanda McCaddon
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Tantor Media
Release date: October 27, 2009
Duration: 10:50:20

Born into aristocracy, the Grey sisters were the great-granddaughters of Henry VII, grandnieces to Henry VIII, legitimate successors to the English throne, and rivals to Henry VIII’s daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Lady Jane, the eldest, was thrust center stage by uncompromising religious politics when she briefly succeeded Henry’s son, the young Edward VI. Dubbed “the Nine Days Queen” after her short, tragic reign from the Tower of London, Jane has over the centuries earned a special place in the affections of the English people as an abused child and a “queen of the public heart.” But as Leanda de Lisle reveals, Jane was actually more rebel than victim, more leader than pawn, and Mary and Katherine Grey would have to tread carefully in order to avoid sharing their elder sister’s violent fate.

Navigating the politics of the Tudor court after Jane’s death was a precarious challenge. Katherine Grey earned the trust of Mary I, only to risk her future with a love marriage that threatened Queen Elizabeth’s throne. Mary Grey, considered too petite and plain to be significant, looked for her own escape from the burden of her royal blood—an impossible task after she followed her heart and also incurred the queen’s envy, fear, and wrath.

Exploding the many myths of Lady Jane Grey’s life, unearthing the details of Katherine’s and Mary’s dramatic stories, and casting new light on Elizabeth’s reign, de Lisle gives voice and resonance to the lives of the Greys and offers perspective on their place in history and on a time when a royal marriage could gain you a kingdom or cost you everything.

“… Wanda McCaddon enlivens this detailed account with her energetic narration, sounding as if she herself is intrigued by the descriptions of society in sixteenth-century England. Her brisk pace ensures that the story keeps moving, even as she outlines the particulars of various royal lineages and relationships. This factual narrative hardly calls for a dramatic reading, but McCaddon’s tone still manages to convey a sense of regret that each woman had to come to such an unhappy end. Who knows what might have happened if one of them had succeeded as queen?” A.E.B. AudioFile 2010