Nest of Ashes (The Phoenix Trilogy: Story of Jane Seymour Book 1)

Loved, loved, loved this book. Best so far this year!I was so intrigued to see how Gemma Lawrence would portray Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, as relatively little is known about her. Traditionally, she is the meek and mousey one, the antithesis of the charismatic, sophisticated Anne Boleyn, the biddable daughter of the proud Seymour family of Wolf Hall (Wulfhall), minimally educated (she could barely read). Ms Lawrence has brought her to life. In Nest of Ashes we see a timid girl,

I’ve always loved historical fiction and have two favourite periods that never fail to catch my attention. The first is WWII and the other is The Tudors. As author Gemma Lawrence states, there is so little told about Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII. It’s a huge understatement to say I was intrigued as to how she would portray a story based on someone about whom so little actual “history” is known. Indeed, following Anne Boleyn as Henry’s queen must surely have been a daunting time for

Much as I love historical fiction about (almost) any period, my real fascination bears hard upon the tales generated by the lives of women in the post medieval period. It is a widely explored timeframe I realize, but I still find the descriptions of everyday life, garb, design, naturopathic (herbs used for healing, contraception, empowerment, potency (in males, & desire in females {GENERALLY}, as well as cooking, along with environmental uses such as hiding unpleasant odors, rodents and insect c