A Dangerous Inheritance
Alison Weir

Lady Katherine Grey has already suffered more than her fair share of tragedy. Eight years ago, her older sister, Lady Jane Grey, was beheaded for unlawfully accepting a crown that was not hers. Now, in risking all for love, Katherine incurs the wrath of her formidable cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, who sees her as a rival for her insecure throne.

Interlaced with Katherine’s story  is that of her distant kinswoman, Kate Plantagenet, the bastard daughter of Richard III. Kate loves her father, but all is not well at court, and before long she hears terrible rumours that threaten all she holds dear. Like Katherine Grey, she falls in love with a man who is forbidden to her. Then she embarks on what will prove to be a dangerous quest, covertly seeking the truth about the fate of her cousins, the Princes in the Tower.

But time is not on Kate’s side – or on Katherine’s either…

This book is brilliant. Difficult though it must be to entwine the lives of two lesser known historical women – Lady Katherine Grey and Kate Plantagenet - and blend both fantastic, romantic, heart wrenching stories that are full of suspense, Alison Weir has managed it perfectly.

Let’s start with Katherine. I think everyone who is at all interested in Tudor history knows about the execution of her sister, Lady Jane Grey, the ‘Nine Days Queen’, but who actually knows much about her sister and everything she went through afterwards? Even though you can see consequences in a way that Katherine does not seem to, you feel yourself rooting for her all the same. As for Kate, you really feel sorry for her, looking at her innocent view of the people around her and the people she loves with knowing historical foresight.

There is a very simple, if not unfair reason why I have given this book only four stars and not five: all three of Weir’s other historical novels have explored such heart wrenching themes, but this is the only one that has not managed to bring me to tears. However, I urge you to read all four of her wonderfully well researched and historically rich novels; she has to be one of the best historical novelists I have ever encountered.

Rating: ★★★★★