Innocent traitor

by Alison Weir | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 9780099493792 Global Overview for this book
Registered by rem_OXZ-286813 on 3/15/2008
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by rem_OXZ-286813 on Saturday, March 15, 2008
This was an Ipswich Splinter Group title, which I inflicted on everyone else! Here are the notes, so you can see what we all thought...

Ipswich Splinter Group
Tuesday 19 February 2008, 7pm, The Plough

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

P / Samwise; R / KenseyRiver; E / Semiotic Ghost; K / Me (chooser and minutes); and a special welcome to G / Milomum

This was not the most popular Splinter book ever but certainly took our reading in a different direction. P said how much better Innocent Traitor was than Treasure Island… whoops typo!… K thought to herself how much better Innocent Traitor was than Treasure Island, but respects the opinions of others who may think differently, because she is a heroic Bathippo :o)


1. How much did you enjoy the book, and why?
P talked about the spiritual discussion taking place on BT newsgroups and how this added a perspective to his reading. Other people liked the historical content, but did not enjoy the book so much. R described the book as “Tudor Child Called It”. K, as chooser, felt it was a bit boring to start with, but definitely picked up half way through.

2. How does this book compare to other historical fiction and non-fiction you have read?
G has read a lot of other historical fiction, and felt the book lacked atmosphere. E found it educational. K has read some historical fiction too (!), and agreed with G. K has also read one of Weir’s non-fiction books about the Wars of the Roses, which was brilliant, much better than Innocent Traitor.

3. What did you learn about the Tudors that you didn’t know before?
P learned about Jane’s character. R had not thought about the personal impact of religious persecution before. E liked the clothes.

4. How effective were the different voices of the characters? What worked and what didn’t?
R thought Jane’s mother was good, but Jane herself was not convincing. Generally the group did not feel this was executed very well. P thought the working class characters were a bit rubbish, as Weir seemed to have no understanding of them at all.

5. Why was ‘blood’ an important theme and metaphor in this book? What other imagery struck you?
E thought ‘birth’ was a more obvious theme. R thought that ‘blood’ was a theme insomuch as it is just below the surface, separates them, and is universal. No one really picked up on what K was driving at in the question (i.e. the dreams of headless queens, the ruby necklace, the hunted dear and the importance of the blood line to determine the ‘rightful’ heirs to the throne… see?).

6. ‘Some parts of the book may seem far-fetched: they are the parts most likely to be based on fact’ (Author’s Note). Consider: the accidental discovery of Queen Katherine Parr’s signed death warrant; Edward VI’s arsenic poisoning and the switching of his remains with another youth’s; Jane’s uncharacteristic defiance of her betrothal to Lord Guilford Dudley and subsequent punishment; the convoluted and sometimes absurd attempts to subvert the Act of Succession and depose the rightful monarch. Generally, do we require fiction to be more plausible than reality?
G thought all the Tudors were messed up. R thinks the believability of the characters is more important. E and K think that the internal logic of a book needs to be consistent.

7. ‘I have tried to penetrate the minds of my characters, which is something that serious historians attempt only at their peril’ (Author’s Note). Alison Weir is a widely published and read historian (think of a female David Starkey or Simon Sharma), to what extent has this helped or hindered her in her fist novel?
P said neither. G suggested that Weir’s novel was only published on the strength of her historian credentials. R thought it hindered her, because there was too much detail. K felt this book clearly demonstrates that writing about history and historic fiction are different disciplines. E likes the clothes. Again.

8. (The real) Lady Jane Grey had a reputation as one of the most learned women of her day; Alison Weir describes her as one of the ‘finest female minds of the century’. Yet she only lived to the age of 16 or 17 years. How is Jane’s intellect – and youth – portrayed in the novel?
Not terribly well…

9. ‘For when I am in the presence of either Father or Mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it as it were in such weight, measure and number, even so perfectly as God made the world; or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs and other ways ... that I think myself in hell.’ When Jane faces execution in the book, Jane’s mother makes an emotional plea to Queen Mary and later repents in private to God for her sins; yet apparently, the real Frances Brandon made no attempt, pleading or otherwise, to save her daughter's life. What, exactly, motivates Frances Brandon? And is it concevable that a mother who was so cruel to her daughter would have such a change of heart?
E said greed for power, personal gain. G said putting her offspring on the throne (Frances’s offspring, not Milo); and it was conceivable Frances may have had an epiphany. P pointed out what little evidence exists to record what actually happened, so it’s impossible to know.

10. The other maternal figures in Jane’s life were Queen Katherine Parr (Henry VIII’s last wife who ‘survived’), her cousin Lady / Queen Mary, and Mrs Ellen. How successfully were Jane’s relationships with these three women portrayed?
Mrs Ellen was all right! was generally the feeling of the group. Queen Katherine was also an important role model, and this worked.

11. How is England portrayed in this book?
R had some impressions of London and the stately homes. E said England is portrayed as the centre of the universe, but the book said little about common people, except to portray them as a mob. G felt it could have been ‘any country’ in the book – no grass or sheep, to make it feel Englandy.

12. What relevance does the Catholic / Protestant question have for us today? Is the persecution of ‘heresy’ in this historical period just extremism by another name?
This prompted a lot of comments from the group, which does not have anyone of strong religious feelings. K put this Q in because she felt it had implications for: the actual Catholic / Protestant issues of the current day i.e. Northern Ireland; ‘modern’ extremism and religious persecution i.e. Islamic extremism, KKK, anti-Semitism etc etc; and the issue of whether religious righteousness is actually just a cover story for political ambition, gaining wealth, power etc.


13. What did you make of the ending of the book? Do you have a ‘heart of stone’?
It seems we all do…

14. In the Tower of London, Dr Feckenham attempts to persuade Jane to convert to the ‘true faith’ and they have a debate where Jane acts as ‘advocate for her own death’. If you were in Jane’s position, would you have recanted your faith and ‘miraculously’ converted to Catholicism to secure your reprieve?
It seems we all would… G described the links to fasting / getting highs in teenage girls which would help explain some of Jane’s behaviour. P wants to be King.


P.S. Two weeks after this discussion K went to the National Portrait Gallery and spent time in the Tudor rooms… it’s brilliant! Like…. I actually know kind of sort of who the people are in the paintings! (I also saw Elizabeth the Golden Age on DVD that week, which helped, so went around saying things like ‘You’re Geoffrey Rush’.)

Journal Entry 2 by rem_OXZ-286813 at Gallerie degli Uffizi in Firenze, Toscana Italy on Saturday, March 15, 2008

Released 16 yrs ago (3/19/2008 UTC) at Gallerie degli Uffizi in Firenze, Toscana Italy

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Somewhere in the Uffizi.

Exciting :o)

Journal Entry 3 by rem_OXZ-286813 on Tuesday, March 25, 2008

In the end I didn't release in the Ufizzi, because I sort of forgot...

I did plan on leaving it on the steps at Ufizzi on another day anyway, but then I had a better idea: I met a nice lady working in the English Language Bookshop. I had asked her whether she knew of any local OBCZs (which I know was a bit of a long shot!). We got talking about Bookcrossing and she seemed interested (ish).

Instead of doing a wild release I did a controlled one, and gave the book to the lady in the shop.

Not sure if she will journal it herself or maybe pass it on to someone who will...? We'll see.

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