The Time Will Come #4

This is a Thursday meme hosted by Jodie at Books For Company to shine a light on those books we've had on our TBR piles so long that they're practically part of the furniture.

To join in, just post about a book you've been really meaning to read and then hop on over here and link up. I love looking at everyone else's TBR piles, so you can see a full list of the other participants over there too.

This is The Sisters Who Would Be Queen by Leanda de Lisle, and it's been on my TBR for, ooh... over a year now. 

The dramatic untold story of the three tragic Grey sisters, all heirs to the Tudor throne, all victims to their royal blood.

Lady Jane Grey is an icon of innocence abused. Remembered as the 'Nine Days Queen', she has been mythologized as a child-woman sacrificed to political expedience. But behind the legend lay a rebellious adolescent who became a leader, and no mere victim. Growing up in her shadow, Jane's sisters Katherine and Mary would have to tread carefully to survive.

The dramatic lives of the younger Grey sisters remain little known, but both women became heirs and rivals to the Tudor monarchs, Mary and Elizabeth I. To gain Queen Mary's trust, teenaged Katherine ignored Jane's final request not to change her religion, only to risk her life with a marriage that threatened Queen Elizabeth's throne.

While Katherine's friends fought to save her, the youngest Grey sister, Mary, stayed at court. Though too poor and plain to be significant, she looked set to escape the burden of her royal blood. But then she too fell in love and incurred the Queen's fury.

Exploding the many myths of Lady Jane's life, and casting fresh light onto Elizabeth's reign, acclaimed historian Leanda de Lisle brings the Grey sisters' tumultuous world to life: at a time when a royal marriage could gain you a kingdom, or cost you everything.

Well I'm not sure about 'untold story,' as I must own at least another five versions of the Lady Jane Grey tragedy. But hey, I like her and always felt more than a little sorry for her, so I keep on buying them.

One of my favourites is The Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir.