THE MAY BRIDE

Nicola Barber’s genteel voice and elegant diction prove to be a fine fit for historical fiction. Fifteen-year-old Jane Seymour instantly adores her new, free-spirited sister-in-law, Katherine, wife of brother Edward. Barber channels the excitable, breathless Jane, while making her portrayal of Katherine sound worldlier. When Edward goes to war, Katherine helps keep the Seymour household running smoothly. Barber’s performance is top-notch when, years later, Jane unwittingly alerts Edward to an intimate relationship that existed between Katherine and their father while Edward was away. Barber makes Jane’s remorse fully credible as all their lives are upended. Katherine is banished to a convent, while Jane is sent to be a lady-in-waiting to Katharine of Aragon. Nicola Barber’s performance is often better than the material in this scandal-rife foray into the genre. S.J.H. [Published: DECEMBER 2014]