My Lady Jane, set in Tudor England, is Amazon Prime’s latest historical drama and retells the story of the infamous ‘nine days’ queen Lady Jane Grey, giving her the ending she deserved, rather than the one she got. .
Released today, the eight-episode historical drama created by Gemma Burgess is a comedic retelling of what might have been had Jane not been executed nine days into her reign, and is designed to appeal to Bridgerton fans.
The real Lady Jane was just 16 when she became Queen of England, forced onto the throne by her ambitious father-in-law and then savagely beheaded by Queen Mary when she came to claim the throne.
The memory of Lady Jane Gray was immortalized by Paul Delaroche’s famous 1833 painting depicting her execution, which shows the young girl pure and helpless in an angelic white dress.
My Lady Jane, set in Tudor England and starring Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel (pictured), retells the story of the infamous “nine-day” Queen, Lady Jane Grey.
Jasper Reeves in The Telegraph calls it a ‘sexist, rude Wolf Hall’
Lady Jane’s sister Katherine Gray is also a central character in the show.
Based on the best-selling novel by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows, My Lady Jane reimagines the well-known story, with a feisty heroine who escapes her cruel destiny of becoming an eternal “damsel in distress,” and instead keep going. to be “the ruler England needed,” as we hear from a voiceover in the opening credits.
Californian actress Emily Bader plays Lady Jane Grey, and critics compare her to Jenna Colman’s Queen Victoria due to her witty and confident tone.
While this Tudor game clearly disregards factual accuracy, critics were pleasantly surprised by the Prime show, praising its dark humor and steamy sex scenes to rival those of Bridgerton.
Jasper Reeves of The Telegraph calls it a “swearing, sexual Wolf Hall”, and says that by combining a “lively Alice in Wonderland vibe” with “abundant softcore sex” and a “rocking soundtrack”, My Lady Jane is the escapism we all mean.
My Lady Jane’s romantic interest is the notorious rake Guildford Dudley, played by Sex Education’s Edward Bluemel.
“Let’s call a spade a spade,” said Edward Bluemel. tatler. “There’s a lot of hot sex.”
In the same interview, California-born actor Bader explained the intense chemistry between Jane and Edward: “He infuriates her, but she’s in love with him, which I think is deeply sexy.”
Based on the best-selling novel by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows, My Lady Jane reimagines the well-known story, with a feisty heroine who escapes her cruel destiny of becoming an eternal “damsel in distress.”
California-born actress Emily Bader explained that the chemistry between Jane and Edward is because of that: “He makes her angry, but she’s in love with him.”
Jordan Peters plays King Edward VI with his own love story
It’s clear from the start that sex is a central part of the show, with the synopsis reading: “Are you ready for an epic story of true love, grand adventures, regicidal maniacs, deadpan heroism, devious intrigues, cape sword fights?” and sword, a soup of letters?” Magical realism and lots of sex? Of course you are’.
The show has also been well reviewed by Aramide Tinubu for Variety, who calls it a “masterful retelling”, which is “packed with delicious expletives, iconic phrases and a whole series of plots and death plans, revealing an alternative universe where “Women (and some men) have the ability to take control of their lives.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian’s Lacy Mangan says: “It’s a wild, fun form of escapism – perfect summer viewing.”
Before concluding: ‘It remains a decidedly strange concept to take a little-known historical event, mess it up, and add magical animals to it (referring to the mythological ‘ethians’ that some humans can transform into). But it works by putting your whole heart into the effort.’
In a 2018 interview with Editor’s WeeklyMy Lady Jane author Cynthia Hand spoke about the inspiration behind bringing back Jane’s harrowing story of the Tudor dynasty.
She explained: “I wanted to write a novel about Lady Jane Grey, a determined and studious teenager in 16th century England.
‘She had the misfortune to become queen, but only for nine days and then her head was cut off. I always loved studying the Jane Gray story except for the ending. So I thought, ‘Hey, I’m a writer.’ I can give it a different ending.’
