Welcome to the Last Tudor Jamboree

A scene from ‘My Lady Jane’

my lady janeBased on the bestselling YA series by Jodie Meadows, Brody Ashton and Cynthia Hand, you’ll have to give it time to get through. At first, all the swearing might put you off, as it seems like a silly desperation to seem hip and cool. A four letter swear word is the laziest choice, especially considering how many swear words could be invented in Tudor times, stupid! Patience is truly a virtue and if you stick with it, you’ll be able to enjoy it. my lady janeYou’ll be pleasantly surprised at the sheer watchability and all-around beauty of this show.

And hello, you don’t need to know anything about Tudor England. Well if you do, like me who has lived in England since I was 16.^th England Rabbit Hole Since the Century ShardlakeBonus points are in order and you can laugh at the cleverness of the comparison. Otherwise you can enjoy my lady jane It is a thrilling fantasy adventure story involving a dying king, scheming elders, brave rebels, a courageous teenager, and most importantly, a great horse.

A scene from ‘My Lady Jane’

Post-Henry VIII England is in political turmoil, with battle lines being drawn between the Aethians, people who can transform into animals, and the Verities, who can’t – get what I mean about using fantasy to make high concepts accessible? The war between the Aethians and the Verities could stand in for the religious war between the Catholic and Protestant Reformation. Princess Mary (Kate O’Flynn) is violently against the Aethians because her royal father, Henry, divorced her mother, thanks to Anne Boleyn, who was a beast in and out of bed!

King Edward (Jordan Peters) is tormented and Lord Seymour (Dominic Cooper) and Lord Dudley (Rob Brydon) plot all sorts of things for the throne. While his two half-sisters, Mary and Elizabeth or Bess (Abbie Hern) are next in line, his cousin, Lady Jane (Emily Bader) could be a key part of the board.

Meanwhile, Jane’s mother, Lady Frances (Anna Chancellor), has agreed to marry Jane to Lord Dudley’s younger son, Guildford (Edward Bluemel), in order to revive the family fortunes. Jane, who would rather publish her illustrated book of herbs than marry, is horrified at the change in her life. Frances is firm in her ambitions and arranges the marriage of her other daughter, Catherine (Isabella Brownson), to the gouty Duke of Leicester (Jim Broadbent), who inherited the title and lands after Jane’s father’s death. Jane discovers the secret of Guildford’s horse and the fact that her maid and best friend, Susanna, (Mairead Tyers), was not entirely honest with her.

eight episodes of my lady jane The plot shines with double-crosses, swashbuckling couplings, some S&M, magic and a dash of spectacular mayhem. The narrator is funny with sharp turns of phrase including the Tudor jamboree and “bossy boot councillors” in the title. The chemistry between Bader and Bluemel is sizzling and we are interested in their story.

Chancellor and Cooper are the most fun as the evil Francis and Seymour respectively. Francis treats everyone royally, from her bloodthirsty youngest daughter Margaret (Robin Betteridge) to her lover Stan (Henry Ashton). There’s a fun game of bowls between the Duke of Norfolk (Will Keen) and the Aethian leader Archer (Michael Workman) to decide the future of the Division Law (which keeps Aethian and Verity apart).

Naturally there’s music – from the Moody Blues’ ‘Nights in White Satin’ to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ and plenty of rock ‘n’ roll in between, to tell this fiery tale of travellers in both time and space. The ending hints at a Season 2. While it may not be about Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre as the second season of the Lady Jane’s series, my simple jane, This isn’t a bad thing, as it’s not a bad thing to spend more time with Lady Jane, her royal cousins, scheming parents, silly siblings, and loving husband.

My Lady Jane is streaming on Amazon Prime Video