What a great read! Jane is always passed over because her marriage was so short and normal. I love how there is a little history repeated in each book, from each wives perspective. More’s beheading from Katherine, Anne and Jane’s position was interesting to consider.
As always with Alison, I’m completely immersed in the world. The palaces, textures, smells and food were all vividly described. I’m looking forward to meeting the other wives!

Alison Weir's Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen is another worthy read in her Six Tudor Queens series. We first meet Jane when she is ten years old and her oldest brother is marrying his first wife. In Weir's portrayal of Jane, she longs to be enter into religious service, she is pious, devoted to her religion and kind. As Jane grows, she is devoted to her family but feels a calling to become a nun.

Before Jane enters Queen Katherine's service, she tries her hand at living as a nun, but isn't happy. That doesn't mean that Jane abandons her religious beliefs or the teachings of her youths. She has seen some of the hypocrisy carried on in houses of religion and is shaken by that new found knowledge.

Jane may be the least known of Henry VIII's wives and she is an enigma. Jane served in Queen Katherine's court during the drama of her separation and subsequent abandonment by Henry. She spent time with Katherine, who she believed was England's true queen, and followed Katherine to some of her places of exiled residence.

As much as Jane cared for Katherine, she despised Anne as did most of the country toward the end of her reign. How much was Jane involved in Anne's fall from grace and subsequent death sentence? Possibly she played a role, even if only small, in Anne's downfall. Obviously, Anne's fall from grace lifted Jane much higher than her aspirations.

Jane was interesting to me because of her feelings for Henry and her willingness to become his third wife. He divorced/annulled/abandoned his first wife and annulled/beheaded his second wife, who would want to marry a man who found it easier and easier to rid himself of an unwanted wife? Jane knows her husband's love is directly connected to her ability to produce a son and heir.

I think Jane truly loved Henry and I believe she married him because she loved him, and she wanted to bring him back to his former faith and good standing with the pope. Katherine and Jane may be Henry's only wives that truly loved him.

The tragedy of Jane is usually overshadowed by the tragedy of Anne. If Anne Boleyn is a very unlikable character/human being then Jane is the opposite. Jane's death was a tragedy for the kind, the country, her family and for her son who grew up without his mother. Was Jane's death the beginning of Henry's descent into extreme narcissism?

I really enjoyed this portrayal of Jane Seymour by Ms. Weir and I enjoyed the author's note at the end of the book. Tudor history is fascinating to me and this author brings it to life. Very well done.

Consider this a 3.5-star rating. Jane Seymour comes across as a fully fleshed person here, rather than as the shadowy, nondescript figure she's usually presented as; for once I could understand why Henry VIII married her and could believe that he actually loved her. The milieu was well evoked too. That said, the writing never rose above serviceable, the "haunting" business seemed a bit childish, and a few of Jane's reactions to events felt unrealistic. But if you're looking for an effortless fictional read about a little-known royal, this will satisfy. And yes, I probably will read Weir's take on Anne of Cleves.

Another absolutely brilliant book by the amazing Alison Weir. I read every book by this author that I can possibly get my hands on, and I am never disappointed. This is the 3rd book in the series, and just as the previous two, I couldn't put it down to save my life. A definite recommend!

Alison Weir is perhaps THE best author of Tudor history. She is able to bring the characters to life. I am enjoying her Tudor Queens series.
Jane Seymour has always been a remote, mousy character, in my opinion. Ms. Weir was able to completely change my opinion and introduce a multidimensional character that is likable and engaging. Unlike her predecessors, Jane had a quiet and relaxing personality, however, she was intelligent, well versed and full of ideas. This book was obviously well researched and lovingly written. This is an amazing series and I can't wait for the next installment! (My personal favorite wife was Anne of Cleves, next on the list of wives.) I do have a new respect and admiration for Jane Seymour, and I thank Alison Weir for bringing her to life for me.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys Tudor history, anyone who enjoys reading about strong women, or anyone who simply loves a good story.

Title- Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen

Author- Alison Weir

Publisher- Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine

Publish Date- May 15, 2018

Rating: 📖📖📖/5

// I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review //



I'm going to keep this one short as there isn't too much to say about it in my opinion. If you don't know the story of Jane Seymour, then I'll give you a quick overview. She was the third wife of Henry VIII of England and died after giving birth to Henry's only legitimate son. Little is known about her for sure. She was a pious woman and said to be Henry's favorite wife (probably because she was the only one to give him a son).



This is very clearly a historical fiction book. If you're looking for a biographical account, look elsewhere. As little is known about her life, I can see why the book is so heavy on the fiction side. Weir does a decent job of painting Seymour's world and filling in the gaps where the historical record is lacking. I only wish she didn't make Seymour so naive and borderline annoying. I don't believe that anyone was as clueless as she is painted to be in this story. Though I never really thought about reading a book about Jane Seymour, Weir made her a little more tolerable.



After reading reviews about Weir's book on Anne Boleyn, I was very skeptical about reading this book as Jane came after Anne. And I can see why people didn't like Weir's depiction of Anne. Almost every interaction and description of Anne in the book is negative and petty. I can't imagine every time Jane saw Anne it was horrible. And I mean EVERY TIME. It was annoying and frankly unnecessary. Anyway, if you are just looking for a book about Jane Seymour, then you can pick this one up for a good read. However, if you're looking to learn more about her in more of a research capacity, I would probably steer clear. Or just read the author's notes in the back of the book which honestly I found more interesting than most of the book.



I'm going to begin by saying that I was kind of dreading this one given that I absolutely loathed the one about Anne Boleyn. I suppose I'm biased, given how much I like Anne. I feel as though history paints her as "the whore" but we need to remember that Henry was the king. Women back then didn't get much of a say in how things went. But let us not dwell on semantics. I could get legnthy.

Regardless, here we go!

I actually came away liking Jane a bit more after having read this. Weir brings us an imagined version of Jane as to why she didn't marry earlier--she wanted to be a nun. Whilst we have no way in knowing why in reality Jane didn't marry earlier, it was an interesting take upon it. One wonders if that is the truth or if she really was plain and had trouble finding someone willing. Her family wasn't in the poorhouse, so it would seem peculiar that a woman of good stock and was of marrying age wasn't married. Not to mention her younger sister married before her.

The book, of course, introduces us to the entire Seymour clan and brings us to Wulfhall (Wolf Hall for Hilary Mantel fans) leading us though Jane's life, the history of the family, their joys and sorrows..it's a lively take on the family life and it's interesting to see how things worked then.

Once Jane gets to court, first serving Katherine of Aragon, then Anne Boleyn, we get a good viewing of what life was like back then. I was amused by Jane's naivety sometimes but was also irritated in some moments. I also found Sir Francis Bryan trying to woo her as a bit odd. But, that was court life. A young, unattached woman with access to the Queen? Always a draw for this hoping to reach high levels.

It was interesting to get an idea of how Jane may have felt about the swiftness of her courtship with the King and how fast Anne had her downfall. There are moments where Jane really pondered her part in the whole thing and it was easy to feel sympathy for her. At least I did.

We, of course, know what happens to Jane, so I won't bore you with that. But I think you'll be surprised that you will see more to 'Plain Jane' than you thought.

This book has made Jane rise like her personal device, a phoenix. We often dismiss her for being plain and otherwise useless but I think Jane Seymour is quite admirable, given how she risked her neck for trying to save the monestaries, people in the tower as well as trying to reconcile Henry and the Lady Mary.

Sometimes, it's the quiet ones who really surprise us all.

I received an ARC through NetGalley and the publisher for this book. I am a big fan of Alison Weir and I always look forward to her next book. This 3rd installment in the Tudor Queens series provides excellent research, history and insight into Jane Seymour, Henry VIIII’s third and supposedly favorite queen. I enjoyed learning more about Jane’s childhood, background and family life as well as her time in court before marrying the king. Historically she is viewed as the one who gave Henry a son and heir and for that reason alone she is important and famous, even though her life was tragically short. Fabulous book! I look forward to the rest of the series.

The story of Jane Seymour’s rise to the throne (and her subsequent death after bringing forth Henry VIII’s only male heir) has been well chronicled by many.  Was she pushed by her ambitious family?  Was she truly the docile angel she was later enshrined as?  Alison Weir – well known writer of biographical fiction and straight historical biography, and who in fact has written multiple historical biographies about Jane – tries to answer these questions through the medium of fiction, writing about the young queen’s life from the day she leaves an attempt at an ecclesiastical life to the day she dies in her royal bed.  The result - Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen - is a bit heavy on history, a bit light on the juicy melodrama, with some very old-fashioned storytelling tropes – in short, a solid novel although not a perfect one.

Jane – ripped from a nunnery in hope of advancing the prospects of the Seymour family in the growing wake of the legal and ecumenical unrest resulting from the destabilization of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s marriage  – feels alone and ungainly as she sits unasked-for within the walls of the family keep.  Her happiest moments are the ones she shares with her boisterous, troubled, ambitious family.  To hush up a family scandal, Jane is sent to court, hoping to smooth royal feathers and seek out a proper husband for herself, and hopefully, for her sister Margery as well.

Court life immediately embroils the awkward Jane in intrigues she isn’t prepared to cope with – many of them started by her brothers’ unwise political scheming.   Thrown in at the deep end, she applies a system of silence, modesty, reason, fairness and virtue to keep from becoming enmeshed in the various social and geopolitical disasters forming around her.  Playing witness as Henry divorces himself from Rome and the Pope and creates the Church of England so he may divorce Catherine and install Anne Boleyn beside him as queen, Jane is furious on behalf of her mistress and leaves the court, staying loyal to Catherine and to the religion that bolsters her, until her father orders her to Anne’s side.

Anne, unlike the reserved, religious, and faithful Catherine, is a tempest of emotion, rapacious and protective of her daughter Elizabeth – just as wrathful as the murderous, selfish Henry.  Perhaps they’re too alike - when she miscarries two sons and the brewing whirlwind of conflict with Spain rears its ugly head, it’s enough to make Henry worry that he’ll die without producing a male heir. So he turns to Jane and begins wooing her.  Jane is conflicted – adultery is a sin and she has seen the damage it does to human life, but her family pressures her into colluding with the king so that she might assist the Princess Mary and her former queen.

Soon her own feelings for Henry take deep root, and she finds herself transcending the moral barriers she once so staunchly held between them.  Falling in love with the king, she watches Anne’s self-implosion with distaste and sympathy.  When the hated queen is beheaded and a pregnant Jane rises to take her place, she is soon beset by both status-seeking courtiers and nightmares and apparitions of the late Anne.  Is she being haunted by the late queen?  Or are other fates at work, governing her life?

The Haunted Queen does several things well, including managing to combine a sense of drama with a sense of deep history, telling us new things about Jane that grow her beyond the innocent naïf the history books have cast her as.  Yet while the historian in Weir often enlightens the author’s fiction, it sometimes sinks the book in overly-ornate detail.  This is only an occasional flaw; mostly she gets it right and the book’s large page-count doesn’t feel like an enormous strain.   It sweeps the reader back in time, and does give us a credible peek into Jane’s head.

The most heartrending scene in the novel features Jane’s sister in law, Catherine, who is forced into a nunnery thanks to the revelation in her father’s will that only minor provision shall be made for her living expenses by him due to the fact of her extramarital affair… with Jane’s father.  Jane’s cool-headed help paves the way for her survival through the court’s politics, her tenderness as Catherine loses her lucidity in isolation, and her own moral quandary over adultery when Henry enters her life.  Weir is excellent at weaving stories together that way, and each little bit of foreshadowing slips through the narrative and adds to the tragedy of Jane’s future.

The book is plenty romantic – well, if you like Henry the VIII’s ornate pleading and begging, followed by his hot-headed childishness and threatening rages.  Jane is a good heroine to follow, and is interesting and not too sweet and soppy in this telling.  Indeed, the shade of superstitious melodrama and tough practicality that Weir gives manages to differentiate her Jane from all of the other Janes that have existed in Henry-related biographical fiction.  All of the dramas, disasters and religious calamity that took place at that time are carefully and accurately depicted.  Young Mary Tudor is given an appealingly sympathetic betrayal, and even Anne Boleyn, for all of her flaws, comes forth in the narrative as a sympathetic creature.

If you like Tudor-era fiction, Weir is always a solid bet.  Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen is no exception to the rule, and if you have a fascination with Tudor England it’s a wonderful way to read yourself through a dull May day.

Buy it at: Amazon/Barnes & Noble/iBooks/Kobo

*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for sending me this ebook to review for an honest opinion*

This book gives a new perspective to Henry’s third (and possibly favorite) wife. Seeing life through the scope of a young girl who originally had her heart set to be a nun and then find herself married to the most influential and powerful man in the country brings an air of humanity to an otherwise hollow history lesson.

The book is divided into parts. The first, is about Jane’s life at home, then the second is about her time as a lady-in-waiting, the third about her service of the the Queen proceeding her, and lastly about her rise to queendom and her eventual death giving birth to her son.

Part 1
Jane seems to come from the perfect family. Couple sisters, a brother or two, and a new sister-in-law. All is well.
Jk, people are sharing bed buddies with persons they shouldn’t be so the perfect family photo is now ripped in half.

Part 2
Jane has found herself in Queen Katherine’s court as a lady maidservant to her! Mistress Anne Boleyn is causing havoc and the well-known split with Rome is on the horizon. Reading this through the eyes of someone not in the situation was refreshing. Jane has no dog in the fight (so to speak), but she has her loyalties.

Part 3
Queen Katherine has died, sadly. Anne has miscarried a third son, and Henry is furious. He seeks comfort in Jane, and is hatching some sort of plan to be rid of Anne so that he might have Jane as his wife.

Part 4
This was the shortest part, but filled with the most information. This part saw Jane elevated to the rank of Queen, miscarry twice, and deliver the future King Edward VI. Jane’s death scene was so visceral: I felt like I was in the room, watching her struggle, seeing the shadow on the wall coming to claim her life. Amazing writing.


Alison’s mastery of olden language and grammar shows clearly here, as does her use of description and scene-setting. The author is amazing at painting a picture easy for the reader to see in their own mind’s eye and thus puts the reader in the position of crowd-watching instead of peeping Tom. Although this is fiction, it does have some base in history. I love this reading this doesn’t feel like a chore, on the contrary; it’s a treat! Weir does a good job of showing things from Jane’s perspective: to herself, Jane is good and pure and all things light, Anne Boleyn is evil and all things dark.

I loved this book and can not wait to read about the remaining three wives, especially Anne of Cleaves.

As a child, Jane Seymour dreamed of becoming a nun. After spending a season at the nunery, she decided that life wasn't for her. Her family found her a place at court under Queen Katherine. During this time, Anne Boleyn began flaunting her relationship with the King. Once Queen Katherine was cast off, Jane became a lady to Queen Anne. One day, when Jane is in the garden, she comes across King Henry, and he quickly becomes infatuated with her kindness and gentle manner.

This was a well written and engaging book. I particularly enjoyed reading about Jane's time under Queen Katherine. Once Jane became Queen the book seemed to stagnant a bit. The tension and drama was essentially over. I look forward to reading the next book from Weir.

In this third book in the Six Tudor Queens series, Alison Weir has done for Jane Seymour what no writer has. Her Jane Seymour has a personality. Most authors writing in this time period present Anne Boleyn as evil and Jane as a saint. Jane is not as sweet as she appears to be, and her life with Henry is not peaceful or contented. In times of stress, she sees visions, especially as she carries the heir to the throne. We all know how this story ends, but we still wish for a happier ending for Jane. Weir's concluding author's note outlines her sources and reasons for her narrative choices, including a reassessment of Jane's final days.

An excellent look at the life of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife. Since there are many things historians do not know, Alison Weir had to invent what may have happened. Her theories worked well in the plot and are based on what we do know. Her characterizations were excellent.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a fair review.

I have a love/hate relationship with historical fiction. I'm a history buff so the opportunity to really get into the heads of my favorite figures from the past is irresistible. The hate comes in when the fictionalized versions of these icons do not behave in the way I would expect.

This was my dilemma with Alison Weir's "Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen." This book, like other Alison Weir books I've read, is so engaging that I stayed up late into the night reading. Alison Weir is an excellent story teller and she makes Jane Seymour and Henry VIII sympathetic characters who I cared about.

This is where the (very mild) hate part comes in. Jane Seymour is portrayed as an ultra religious, virginal waif who is swept off her feet by the King of England. King Henry falls head over heals like a school boy. I don't feel history supports this portrayal. The Seymour family, particularly the two brothers, were opportunists who desired power. I believe Jane must have also had aspirations to power. Her involvement with the King while he was still married to Anne Boleyn show that Jane wanted to improve her position in the court.

There is an author's note at the end of the book where Ms. Weir explains why she chose to portray Jane as an innocent . I appreciated reading her views and her acknowledgement of the other side of the issue.

After reading this from beginning to end I've come to the conclusion that this series is actually turning out really well. As a historian, I tend to frown on loosely based historical fiction and steer myself away from bad examples of the historical figures being depicted. In this book and in this series all together, you have to imagine it from this characters point of view, Jane Seymour was a pious, obedient girl who was devoted to Catherine of Aragon and despised everything that Anne Boleyn stood for. Of course she would have abhorred the whole Boleyn family. These books are not meant to trash the other wives, but view them from the selected wives point of view. It was intriguingly done and I'm very impressed with the work that Alison did to make this Queen pop off the page.

I received a copy of Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Alison Weir's writing for many years and I am happy to report that this book did not disappoint (not that I thought it would)!

This was a fictionalized novel of the life of Jane Seymour, Queen of England and the third wife of Henry VIII. The book begins in Jane's childhood and shows her progression from childhood to Queen. The writing is everything that is expected from Alison Weir - a well-woven story and crisp descriptions of people and events - and the pace moves swiftly.

Even though the book isn't completely historically accurate, I think it captures the vulnerability of Jane Seymour from the sheltered upbringing due to her class and gender, and how limited her choices could be as a daughter and then wife/Queen. In spite of Jane's flaws, I thought she was more moral and a better person than many of her contemporaries; and even though I know how history turned out, I did root for her.

All in all, reading Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir was a fantastic way to spend a rainy, early Spring day, and I am happy to had the opportunity to do so. I look forward to future novels from Alison Weir.

This was an absolutely spellbinding book. Having read the work of Alison Weir before, I knew I was in for a treat and a meticulously well-researched book as well. This book paints the picture of a young woman who comes to the court of Katharine of Aragon and is then swept up into the different factions that break apart during the reign of Henry VIII, ultimately ending in her marriage to the King. The characterization of Jane was impeccable and I found myself sneaking away at inopportune times to read this wonderful book when I should have been doing other things. The richness of all the characters - Jane's family and friends - was beautiful. I was especially pleased with the descriptions of all the different settings because it made it very easy to imagine life in Tudor England. If you love anything historical fiction, or Tudors, you will enjoy this book greatly!

This next book in the Six Tudor Queens series tells the story of Jane Seymour, third wife of King Henry VIII. This fictionalized tale of Jane's life begins at her childhood home of Wulfhall and, in time, we see how Jane came to serve as a maid-of-honor for the Queen—Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife. When she arrives, the King's pursuit of Anne Boleyn, another of Katherine's maid's-of-honor, is already well underway. Jane remains fiercely loyal to her beloved Queen Katherine, even after she is forced to leave her and serve Anne, instead. When Anne is unable to provide a son for the King, he sets his sights on Jane, and marries her eleven days after Anne's beheading. Jane was able to give Henry the son he so greatly desired, but died shortly thereafter.

I still haven't read the first book in this series, but I enjoyed the second very much. I was excited to read about Seymour, hoping it would be as enjoyable as the book about Boleyn.

Jane Seymour, The Haunted Queen swept me back into the Tudor era and kept me enthralled the entire time. The fanciful element of Jane being haunted was a nice addition to the story; it was never over the top, and didn't detract anything from the main story. It was presented in such a way as to be believable that would Jane might feel haunted, and I enjoyed reading those portions.

The real Jane Seymour left behind no letters, so little is known about her thoughts on events that took place during her time at Court and, later, as Queen. Despite that, Weir has written a wonderful novel that makes fine use of the facts known about Jane, her family, and the time she spent with Henry.

Filled with rich imagery and careful attention to detail, Tudor fans are sure to love reading about Henry VIII's third bride... I certainly did!

This is the third book in Weir's historical fiction series about Henry VIII's wives. Despite being (yet again) lengthy, I felt that this book didn't drag as much as the others and had a more interesting and rounder main character, perhaps due to Jane Seymour not being as well documented as her predecessors, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. Of course, the lack of historical record also means Weir has taken great liberty with Jane's character and several plot points -- she admits in her notes that as a historian she would never be able to make a case for some of her more controversial speculations, such as the extent of Jane and Henry's intimacy before their wedding and pregnancies other than the future Edward VI. I am still not a fan of the moment of death/"passing over" endings that seem to be a trope in this series. However, Weir is well versed in the Tudor court and her attention to detail makes this book a good fictional exploration of Jane Seymour's life. It is also interesting to see overlapping events from each woman's viewpoint, and I look forward to the remaining three volumes of the series.