Lady Jane Grey: Nine Day Queen, Faith Cook

Puritans are the universal unpopular characters. Nazis are still the go-to for stereotypical depictions of true evil, but with the word Puritan is loaded with negativity. They are assumed to be unpleasant, stiff, heartless, and so utterly petrified of sinning that with the slightest word awry they may burst into an impromptu witch hunt.

For myself I figured I had a positive view of Puritans; after all my husband eagerly collects all their books (even the ones with ponderous titles like The Death of Death in the Death of Christ) and I know there were many great thinkers and believers among them. But I was so shocked while reading this book at the sincere faith shown by Lady Jane Grey and others around her that I realized I have absorbed more of the cultural ideas about Puritans than I’d thought! If you read a biography you’re not supposed to complain that the main character dies in the end… But the surprise of finding someone whose faith was as real as mine made me dread the end of this book, even as I was encouraged by Lady Jane Grey’s example.

Lady Jane Grey was groomed and positioned at an early age as her parents’ pawn to get as much power and prestige as possible. She was sent to the dangerous court of Henry VIII where she grew up with the future king of England, Edward, who became King Edward VI after Henry VII died. She also served one of Henry’s wives who was later executed.

As she matured, she embraced the Puritan faith that her parents held only nominally. Her heart was tender towards the Lord and her mind was keen. She corresponded with some of the most influential theologians of her time and strove to live a holy life even as her parents machinated to use her for improving their status.

King Edward VI, a Puritan, came to the throne young and did not live long. As he was on his deathbed, he did his best to save England from returning to papistry by ensuring the succession of a Puritan ruler. Without his intervention, the throne would

have gone straight to Mary, daughter of Henry, a devout Catholic. Edward made it possible for Lady Jane Grey to be crowned as queen; an idea her parents pounced on with alacrity.

She was uninformed of this scheme until the moment they foisted the crown on her. Her reign was short; due to political bungling and a lack of trust in the politicians of the time, England rejected her as queen. When Mary, soon to be called Bloody Mary, came to claim the throne, the popular feeling was for her and against Lady Jane. Though she tried to keep her cousin alive, political expediency eventually required Mary to execute Lady Jane. In her last months, Jane was put under incredible pressure to reject the Puritan faith and become Catholic so Mary would have an excuse not to execute her. But with grace and clear thinking, she defended her faith and rejected the idea of abandoning her savior to preserve her life.

My summary doesn’t do Lady Jane Grey’s heart justice, but I was so impressed by the thoughtfulness and sincerity in the letters and prayers that Cook referenced from Lady Jane. Yes, the Puritans followed the times by tangling the government into faith and because of that, many who called themselves Puritan lacked living faith or heart change. But that corruption cannot erase the sincere believers of the time or the example they set for us today. The same living faith was in Puritan Christians as it is in those with sincere faith today. Faith Cook gives us a beautiful and inspiring glimpse into one of those Christians: a girl willing to follow her Savior all the way to death