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Edward Charles Novels in History |
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In the Shadow of Lady Jane |
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In 1551 the population of England and Wales was only 3 million, and more than in any other period of English history, patronage by the nobility, and especially by the King, could transform the life of an educated and opportunistic young man beyond all imagining.
Richard Stocker’s chance came in April 1551, when Lady Jane Grey, together with her parents and two sisters, visited one of the family’s possessions, Shute House, in Devon. In gratitude for saving the lives of his daughters in a storm, Lord Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset and later to become Duke of Suffolk, took Richard into his employment, and he rose up within the family to become the Duke’s personal secretary, and to meet King Edward VI on a number of occasions.
In 1553, Lady Jane Grey’s claim to the throne was overturned by Queen Mary Tudor, who imprisoned her in the Tower of London.
During her 7 months imprisonment, two ladies in waiting, a nurse, and a young male servant accompanied her. Richard Stocker was that loyal servant and remained with her until he witnessed her execution in February 1554.
In the Shadow of Lady Jane traces the impact on a young man of being caught up in the melee of change, as the Protestant King Edward VI was replaced by the fiercely Catholic Queen Mary Tudor, an experience which was to change him deeply and strongly influence the rest of his life in more ways that one. |
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In the Shadow of Lady Jane was published in paperback by Pan on 3rd August 2007 |
