Lady In Waiting by Susan Meissner Review

     ________________________________________________

In the sixteenth-century, Lucy Day, becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous political and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests.

As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more influence over her life than she once imagined.  It all comes down to the choices each makes despite the realities they face.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite gene’s of writing.  I adore learning how others lived form the past and often dream of what it would it have been like.  That being said I was ready to read Lady In Waiting because it sounded exactly like what was going to meet my needs in a book.

While you are gaining an insight into present day Jane’s life while working in Manhattan and trying to save her marriage we also get to meet Lady Jane Grey from 1548 England.  Both women are struggling with things in life and have always had their choices made for them.  Present day Jane had her marriage choice made for her because Brad was convenient and would be able to provide a good home.  Lady Jane Grey’s were of course political and to further her families position to royalty.

As you get to know these women you learn what goes on inside their heads and lives.  I enjoyed how this book was written and although I did struggle at times with keeping up with the others in Lady Jane Grey’s life because I was actually trying to place the people in history (and not just reading).  This was a book that met all my expectations and made me feel like I was in the Jane’s lives.  Although, I preferred Lady Jane’s of course because that is why I chose this book.  Sometimes authors who swap between characters make it hard to follow but I felt that Susan Meissner did a very good job of going between the characters.

The conclusions was surprising to me and was all about how both realize that they did make their own choices in life.    Present day Jane was able to make the choice of keeping her marriage alive and learning that she was going to accept whichever Brad wanted.  Lady Jane Grey came to the conclusion that she was making the choice of her religion.  When she was asked to recant her faith she may be pardoned by the Queen, however, knows that she will never give up her religion even if it means she will be beheaded.

I recommend this book to anybody who has a desire to read historical fiction.  It was amazing and one of the few I will be keeping on my shelves for a second read.