BOOKS
The Lady Of Misrule
I saw her file it away: a good Catholic girl come to supervise her in her detention. Every girl in England now, under the circumstances, made sure to be a good Catholic girl. Except her, of course. And, if only she knew it, me.
Elizabeth Tilney surprised even herself by volunteering for the job of companion to Lady Jane Grey, who has been imprisoned in the Tower after only nine days as queen. All Elizabeth knows is she’s keen to be away from home; she could do with some breathing space. And anyway, it won’t be for long: everyone knows Jane will go free as soon as the victorious new queen, Mary Tudor, is crowned. Which is a good thing, because the two sixteen-year-olds, cooped up together in a room in the Gentleman-gaoler’s house, couldn’t be less compatible. Protestant Jane is an icily self-composed idealist, and Catholic Elizabeth is… well, anything but.
They are united, though, by their disdain for the seventeen-year-old to whom Jane has recently been married off: petulant, noisily-aggrieved Guildford Dudley, held prisoner in a neighbouring tower and keen to pursue his prerogative of a daily walk with his wife.
As Jane’s captivity extends into the increasingly turbulent last months of 1553, the two girls learn to live with each other with mutual respect and liking, but Elizabeth finds herself drawn into the difficult relationship between the newlyweds. And when, at the turn of the year, events take an unexpected and dangerous direction, her new-found loyalties are put to the test.