| Fiction About the Author: Laurien Gardner
Laurien Gardner is the pseudonym for the authors of a series of books distributed by Jove publishing on the wives of Henry VIII. "Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour" was written by Sarah A. Hoyt, who normally writes science fiction or historical fiction with a Sci-Fi twist ("Plain Jane" is strictly historical). Hoyt was born in Portugal in 1962 and graduated from the University of Porto with a Masters in Modern Languages and Literature. She is a member of Mensa International and has won many awards and recognition for her writing. | Submitted by: Tudorprincess
Comments: Told from Jane's point of view, its an account of how she feels she isn't going to amount to anything because of her lack of looks. It is an easy read and gives us a look into Henry's everchanging royal court. It can get a little tedious at time that the author CONSTANTLY refers to Jane as plain, we know its in the title! And sometimes Jane can be a little too self-pitying, but overall it is an enjoyable read. |
Submitted by: jsardonne
Comments: I have always wanted to read a fiction book about Jane Seymour. I agree that the author does tend to harp quite a bit about Jane's looks and Jane herself can be self pitying at times but overall it was a very enjoyable read. I hope there are more fiction books written about Jane. She is my third favorite of Henry's wives.
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Submitted by: SixQueensofHenryVIII
Comments: It's a sweet little story about Jane's rise to power. It's true that Jane stressing how plain she is does become quite annoying at times and it becomes quite old quite fast. But regardless it is a lovely story and for a long time it was the only novel on Jane that I could find. I'd give it a 7/10. | |
| Author: Dinah Lampitt | Submitted by: SixQueensofHenryVIII
Comments: I was so happy when I found there was another novel on Jane that I had to order it and I wasn't disappointed. It focuses on the Seymour children, and centres around Jane and her rise to power. As well as the historical tone it also has a supernatural theme which is a little unusual but actually goes well with the story. The story is well written and beautifully descriptive without going over the top. The only thing I'm not too keen on is the original character, the gypsy cousin of the Seymour children, Cloverella (yeah I know I thought the same thing) and her magical ability to see into the future. But it is a charming story and I couldn't put it down. The portrayal of Jane was one I've never even imagined before, and she isn't a godly saint, in fact she is quite passionate and sometimes even quite naughty in it, throwing a man's codpiece into the river. I'd give this an 8.5/10. | |
