A significant retelling of the often-misunderstood tale of Lady Jane Grey's journey through her trial and execution―recalling the dangerous plots and web of deadly intrigue in which she became involuntarily tangled; and which ultimately led to a catastrophic conclusion. "Good people; I am come hither to die; and by a law I am condemned to the same.†These were the heartbreaking words of a seventeen-year-old girl; Lady Jane Grey; as she stood on the scaffold awaiting death on a cold February morning in 1554. Minutes later her head was struck from her body with a single stroke of a heavy axe. Her death for high treason sent shockwaves through the Tudor world; and served as a gruesome reminder to all who aspired to a crown that the axe could fall at any time. Jane is known to history as "the Nine Days Queen;" but her reign lasted; in fact; for thirteen days. The human and emotional aspects of her story have often been ignored; although she is remembered as one of the Tudor Era’s most tragic victims. While this is doubtlessly true; it is only part of the complex jigsaw of Jane’s story. She was a remarkable individual with a charismatic personality who earned the admiration and affection of many of those who knew her. All were impressed by her wit; passion; intelligence; and determined spirit. Furthermore; the recent trend of trying to highlight her achievements and her religious faith has; in fact; further obscured the real Jane; a young religious radical who saw herself as an advocate of the reformed faith―Protestantism―and ultimately became a martyr for it.Crown of Blood is an important and significant retelling of an often-misunderstood tale: set at the time of Jane’s downfall and following her journey through to her trial and execution; each chapter moves between the past and the “present;†using a rich abundance of primary source material (some of which has never been published) in order to paint a vivid picture of Jane’s short and turbulent life. This dramatic narrative traces the dangerous plots and web of deadly intrigue in which Jane became involuntarily tangled―and which ultimately led to a shocking and catastrophic conclusion. 16 pages of color illustrations
#82321 in Books 2016-11-30 2015-10-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .90 x 6.00l; .96 #File Name: 1629581712262 pages
Review
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Mega Thought ProvokingBy Carl E. Johnson Jr.Let me be clear (where have we heard that before?). I am neither an academic nor a museum professional and only came across this book by accident. However; as a layman I'm very much interested in museums in general; including historic houses and communities; of which my wife and I have visited many and worked for both as a professional (my wife; as a history museum exhibit and program director) and volunteer (myself; as an art museum docent).Let's also be clear that the Guide is not a comprehensive "how-to" on running historic houses. Most notably it does not deal with financial issues or with mission concepts; at least not directly. Rather; focus is on the "visitor experience" and how to draw audiences to historic houses. If I had to pick one phrase to describe what the authors think of most historic house operations today; it would be "too anal" (as borrowed from Freud).The heart of this small book is 132 pages of practical thinking and examples of how to make historic houses more attractive and welcoming to visitors; both by reaching out to the communities in which they live; and by providing memorable experiences to their clients (visitors). Those pages are book-ended by sections that formalize the authors' approach; yet overall the writing and ideas are readily accessible to those outside the academy; for whom the book has obviously been written. The authors point out that historic houses are seeing declining visitor numbers; and their purpose is to help these institutions reverse that trend. They also admit that while some of their ideas are research-based; others are mere conjecture; and they invite the museum community to contribute to their ongoing "anarchist" project.Although the "anarchist" tag is catchy; I'd say Ryan and Vagnone are radical rather than "anarchic." I hate to use this phrase because it's become a cliche; but what they are really asking house museum people to do is "think outside the box" (house). Ideas are divided into five categories: (1) reach out to; which means become involved with; the surrounding community; (2) focus on communications; understanding that communication with visitors is a two-way street (what your visitors tell you is just as important; if not more so; than what you tell them); (3) somewhat related to the number (2) as I see it; make the historic house a shared experience in which visitors are invited to participate in the house experience through their experiences; (4) take a holistic approach to the house and its objects/artifacts (and its history; implicitly); and (5) loosen up and take a practical; realistic approach to preservation and hard assets. I hope this is a fair summary.Clearly (again) not all that the authors suggest is going to translate perfectly to every historic house -- some might think; "Whoa; we can't do that;" and in some cases they'd likely be right. But; think hard about all this "stuff;" that's the message I get. Finally; I'd add that many of the authors' suggestions; such as encouraging your tour guides or docents to go NUDE; are translatable to other kinds of museums. Now; if that doesn't make you want to read the book; I'm not sure what will.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. EYE OPENING; EXCITING; INSPIRINGBy Lady DeborahThis should be required reading for all docents at all HHms everywhere. I am so thrilled and excited to begin implementing the suggestions in the two Historic Homes I am involved with!!!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Helpful for Museum StudiesBy Kylie HewittI'm a Museum Studies student and I really enjoyed seeing all the case studies in this book. While it is focused on historic houses; I believe that many of the suggestions are applicable to all museums.
