THE SISTERS WHO WOULD BE QUEEN: MARY, KATHERINE, AND LADY JANE GREY: A TUDOR TRAGEDY

This collective biography explores the lives and fates of three sisters who were drawn into the turbulent politics of the Tudor dynasty. Wanda McCaddon enlivens this detailed account with her energetic narration, sounding as if she herself is intrigued by the descriptions of society in sixteenth-century England. Her brisk pace ensures that the story keeps moving, even as she outlines the particulars of various royal lineages and relationships. This factual narrative hardly calls for a dramatic reading, but McCaddon's tone still manages to convey a sense of regret that each woman had to come to such an unhappy end. Who knows what might have happened if one of them had succeeded as queen? A.E.B. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2010]