Caught in the Web: A Tale of Tudor Times

by Faith Cook

Following on from the success of the historical novel Under the Scaffold, Faith Cook has taken the content of her acclaimed biography of Lady Jane Grey and crafted a novel around a fictional member of the royal court, but based upon the facts surrounding the life of Lady Jane Grey, focusing particularly upon her Christian faith. This historic novel enables the reader to gain an appreciation of the courage of this young lady and will be an inspiration. Using a narrative form in which some of the characters are fictitious, Faith Cook brings to life for the modern reader a period of English history which was marked by great suffering fo Christians who sought to remain faithful to the truths of the Bible. The account is based first of all on the life of young Lady Jane Grey, nine-day Queen of England, who found herself caught up in a web of intrigue and political ambition, and then on the frightening cruelties which followed during the reign of Mary Tudor. Set against a background of actual historical events, the narrative introduces the reader to many authentic historical figures, often using their own recorded words; both a challenge and encouragement to believers today is provided.

Genres: Historical Fiction

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Faith Cook was born in China, the daughter of OMF missionaries, and now lives in Derbyshire. She is married to Paul, who served as a pastor in churches in Northallerton, Shepshed and Hull. They have five children and ten grandchildren. She is also the author of Lives Turned Upside Down, The Nine-Day Queen of England, Our Hymn-writers and their Hymns, Seeing the Invisible and Under the Scaffold.

Reviews

[zane deann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, so, I hate to give this one star because technically, the writing wasn't bad (although a little dull in some places). And it was mostly enjoyable for the first few chapters.

It's based on the true story of Lady Jane Grey, the sixteen-year-old girl who was queen of England for nine days then executed. I have always found this story extremely disturbing (especially the famous painting done of Lady Jane at her execution) and perhaps even more so now as I am precisely the age she was when she died.

All that being said, I don't mind reading about Lady Jane. It's history. I don't want to forget it.

But at the same time, I don't want to dwell on it either. The entire book there was this horrible suspense building up, like dread. And you know what's going to happen. You know she'll die at the end. But that doesn't make it any less horrifying.

It also gave me new information that I really didn't care to know. Lady Jane was married before her execution to a teenage boy and he, too, was executed. Her father was as well. After their executions, it also talked about the many Protestants killed for their faith - it just seemed like death after death, burning after burning, hangings and horrible, horrible death. It's fine. I can handle knowing that it happened. I can handle death. I just don't really want to know the details - I don't want to think about the suffering. For someone with a vivid imagination like me, I can almost see it happening. Which, I suppose can be a good thing, but for someone like me I'm prone to dwell on it and not stop thinking about it.

So why didn't I stop reading? Typically, to be honest, I would never, ever pick up a book like this because I know how it makes me feel. I had to read it for school. I ended up skipping the execution scene simply because I couldn't handle it, and since I was reading for school my mom had to give me permission to.

I think it's safe to say that I'll never read this book again. My empathy for Lady Jane and all the people who died is far too great for me to be able to enjoy it. And I never want to willingly feel that horrible sense of dread again.

I'm done. I'm going to go read something fluffy now.

[Miriam James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me so much about Tudor England and the life of Lady Jane Grey and the fights between the Catholics and Protestants. It was written in a way which was both engaging but incredibly informative, and I felt very moved at the scene of Lady Jane’s death. There were a lot of Christian messages, which is to be expected by a book about Christianity and by a Christian - even though I don’t identify as one, I didn’t feel like there was too much. Having it from the point of view of a fictional character made it very engaging and I appreciate how much the author clearly tried to stick to the facts. It was definitely a very informative but interesting book! I would definitely recommend to people who are interested in the life of Lady Jane.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was well written, enjoyable from a story perspective, and an easy read. However, the author’s intense anti-Catholic stance really bothered me. I am a Protestant myself, yet I felt this author went beyond facts and way into dogma. Her message was not, “look at the terrible things Christians did to one another in the name of God,” but was rather, “look at the terrible things those religious, ungodly, unsaved Catholics did to righteous, God-fearing Christians.” I would NOT recommend this book for students unless a teacher or parent was going to be very involved in the reading and interpreting of it.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent novel not just about the life of Lady Jane Grey but also the turmoil of England during the English Reformation. The author did a good job with the historical accuracy of the period even though the main character was fictional. The political intrigue and religious beliefs displayed by actual figures held true. As a Reformed Christian I loved how the characters knew why they believed what they did, saw the importance of the actual scriptures and although at times struggled with their faith, recognized the need to persevere. In short, I loved this book of historical fiction!

[Charlotte Baines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book! I've always been interested in and inspired by the story of Lady Jane Grey, so I really enjoyed this book :)