Friday, July 22, 2016

Old Before My Time; Lady of Misrule

"Old Before My Time" by Hayley Okines was really heartbreaking. Hayley was born with progeria, which is an extremely rare genetic disorder that causes the sufferer to age seven times faster than normal. Most children who have progeria don't make it past the age of thirteen. Hayley's parents did a lot to raise awareness of the disease and Hayley participated in some drug trials that may have help extend her life (she died last year at the age of 17). She was a positive, upbeat little girl who had a lot of adventures packed into her short life.  
I've read a few other things by Suzannah Dunn and enjoyed them, and since this one was about Lady Jane Grey, who is really fascinating, I was eager to read it. It was pretty good. After Jane's nine day rule as England's Queen, she is taken to the Tower and imprisoned by Queen Mary. Mary most likely would have let her live, if not for the Wyatt rebellion. After that she had to appear strong and put down any would be pretenders to the throne. This book was about Elizabeth, a young Catholic girl who attended Jane during her captivity. Elizabeth doesn't expect to like Jane, but after spending time alone with her she comes to admire her commitment to the Protestantism she believes so strongly in. The thing that really surprised me about this book was how she portrayed Jane's husband, Guildford Dudley. Everything else I've ever read about him makes him out to be a spoiled, obnoxious little brat who no one had much use for. Dunn portrays him in a sympathetic light, a boy who had no say in his own fate but was determined to stand by Jane because he didn't think she'd been treated very fairly, either. Elizabeth finds herself falling for Guildford, since Jane won't go see him she goes instead and they strike up an unlikely friendship, so it's doubly heartbreaking for her when they are both executed.

No comments: