The Not-Quite-Historical 'My Lady Jane' Is an Enchanting Romp

Prime Video's adaptation of My Lady Jane is fiercely feminist, funny, and extremely creative with history, so don’t expect the right sort of gable hoods in this adventurous fantasy. Author Cynthia Hand is one of a trio of writers (with Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows) who collaborated on the New York Times Young Adult bestseller series that begins with this story. Loosely based (very, very, very loosely) on Lady Jane Grey, the "Nine Days Queen," Hand felt that Jane “deserves a different ending” and provided her with one. The cast is uniformly excellent, with newcomer Emily Bader in the title role, plus gorgeous costumes and settings (lots of CGI as you’d expect, but also some beautifully filmed historical locations), and the cast — newcomers and established actors both — give it their all.

In real life, Henry VIII's heir, Edward VI, son of Jane Seymour, inherited the throne at age nine and passed away at 15. This meant he never ruled; the country was governed by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, followed by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. The latter was determined not to let Mary and her Catholic advisors have the throne when he saw Edward was dying and had the boy name his first cousin once removed, Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant, as his heir. Dudley then married Jane to his son, Lord Guilford, giving his own family the throne over Henry's biological children. Unsurprisingly, Jane didn't last a fortnight. 

However, this is a somewhat different reality. We meet Jane frolicking around with her books and herbs (can you think of any female character in popular historical fiction who isn’t a herbalist? But it is relevant to the plot, so I’ll shut up), somehow blithely unaware that she’s of marriageable age. As one of the King’s cousins, she's high up in the Big List of Heirs/Relatives/Usurpers, yet she's taken aback when her mother, Lady Frances Grey (played beautifully and voraciously by the great Anna Chancellor), announces Jane’s going to marry the son of Lord Dudley and burns her precious herb book. When they arrive at the Dudleys’ house, Guildford, the son in question, isn’t present, but the gorgeously affected and silly Lord Dudley (Rob Brydon) and his preening, equally silly son Stan (Henry Ashton) entertain them.

Although Jane is close to King Edward (Jordan Peters), he approves the marriage. Having lost her only ally, she runs away with her servant, who also happens to be her friend — another cliche, but it’s an issue honestly addressed later on — Susannah (Máiréad Tyers). Stopping at a tavern where Tudor jollity is taking place, including Latin poetry. We have our obligatory Romeo & Juliet scene where the hero/heroine’s eyes meet across the crowded room, time stands still, etc. The handsome Latin poetry spouter inspiring instant lust is the other Dudley son, Guildford (Edward Bluemel), Jane’s intended. 

When there is a raid on the tavern, Jane realizes she is among the Ethians (humans with the magical ability to change into animals). It's a dead giveaway when one of them, Archer (Michael Workeye), transforms into a bear. The captured Ethians are dunked in a well to prove their humanity or otherwise, and with Frances’s intervention, Jane is saved to marry Guilford. However, she discovers he has a particular condition. Yes, he’s an Ethian too, but he has no control over changing species. As his father says, “Man by night, horse by day.” Petunia, the king’s dog, turns out to be another Ethian (Tallulah Greive, when in human form), as is Susannah, who assumes the identity of a hawk. 

Elsewhere in the palace, Lady Frances accepts an offer from Guildford’s dumb brother Stan. He serenades her with The Moody Blues “Nights in White Satin," one of the many rock classics covers dotted throughout the series. Stan quickly finds out who’s in charge; it’s a real pleasure to see a woman of a certain age get what she wants, bossing everyone around, attempting to advance the family fortune, and that includes marrying off Jane’s younger sister Katherine (Isabelle Brownson) to the aging Duke of Leicester (Jim Broadbent), incidentally, her uncle, but that’s just the cherry on the cake. (The cake itself is his habit of displaying his gouty toe at the dining table.) Fortunately, he dies overnight before the marriage can be consummated. The youngest sister, Margaret (Robyn Betteridge), a sweet, feisty, foul-mouthed child, puts a pear in the dead Duke’s mouth like a roasted boar. Their mother, Frances, eats the pear, and that just about sums up the family dynamic.

But back to Guildford and Jane and their reluctant marriage. Guildford believes she may be able to cure him; Jane, who can do anything she puts her mind to, agrees. But her confidence is shaken as cure after cure fails; the sexual tension distracts her. My Lady Jane is a surprisingly sophisticated celebration of the female gaze and female desire. When Jane and Guildford eventually make love — and it doesn’t happen for a while, as tension builds, including a sexy dagger fight — she is in the rare position of encountering something she hasn’t read up on and gives him consent to lead the way.

Meanwhile, King Edward becomes sicker and then disappears, last seen lurking by a window over the moat. He must be dead, it’s decided, and Lord Seymour (Dominic Cooper, strutting his comedy stuff) decides in a dastardly plan to pin the blame on Lord Dudley. Seymour is currently in a hilarious BDSM relationship with Princess Mary (Kate O'Flynn), playing her confidant and Lord Chancellor, while she does the whipping. But his real plan is to marry Bess, aka Elizabeth I (Abbie Hern), and make himself King. Guildford and Jane grab the family silver, hoof it out of there (sorry), and meet up with the Ethians again. The Ethians are poor, always on the run, afraid they won’t be able to survive long, and Jane gives Susannah the family silver.

Although Edward has named Jane his successor (not how inheritance of a throne works but never mind), the document he signed can’t be found. Seymour orders a false document to be created by an Ethian who turns into a grasshopper immediately after, giving Seymour the chance to tread on him to cover up any traces. But Edward’s faithful hound Petunia discovers the original’s hiding place and to Seymour’s chagrin, Jane is declared Queen.

Since Herny VIII left a mess and Edward never fixed it, Jane inherited a “troubled administration.” Her first gesture is to sign a declaration that protects the Ethians, which turns many of the great and powerful against her. She has to survive assassination attempts and obstruction by her Council and is frankly naive about the limits of her power. Even the Ethians talk of allying with a foreign power, Scotland or France, to consolidate the throne, grumping Jane should probably have studied history rather than botany. Her relationship with the Ethians is not as strong as she’d hoped. They appreciate her sympathy, but she’s an outsider (a Verity, in the show’s parlance) and not receptive to their advice to raise an army herself. 

Then, surprise, we learn Edward is still alive, imprisoned in a remote castle under the care of his Granny, Margaret Beaufort (Barbara Marten), now a somewhat nutty nun (or, when she wishes, a giant tortoise). She believes the solution will be to reveal his true nature and rule as openly Ethian, but his genes won’t cooperate. A fanatic hardliner, her ultimate belief is that Ethiana should rule and destroy Verities. Jane cancels the royal guards under Seymour’s command, fires him as Lord Chancellor, and appoints Norfolk (Will Keene) to the position in return for him raising an army, and indicates other changes will come. 

Frances, as ambitious as ever, tries to bribe Jane by arranging the divorce from Guildford she’s wanted for so long, but Jane refuses, even though she now believes there is no cure for his condition or the possibility that he can control it as other Ethians do. He first “changed” when his mother died and believes he may have been responsible for her death, a heavy burden for him to carry. His father, rather late in the game, assures him he is innocent, but maybe it won’t be enough. Jane finally tells Guilford there is no cure, and he doesn’t need it. It is the world that needs to change. But how can Jane possibly save her family, the Dudleys, the Ethians, and her country from the hatred, prejudice, and cruelty that runs rampant through their kingdom? But this is a fantasy and a romance, and in the end, a triumph.

All eight episodes of My Lady Jane are streaming on Prime Video.

How can Jane possibly save her family, the Dudleys, the Lethians, and her country? Ultimately, how can she save herself? She doesn’t know Edward has escaped, with the help of his friend Fitz (Joe Klocek), sometimes a cat, following an excitingly choreographed fight with his Granny. But Jane’s newest appointee, Lord Chancellor, Norfolk, seems to be a bit more of a mensch than other Council members, and he insists on a fair trial for her. Naturally, Jane does her homework, turning up at court with a briefcase of research. She’s found innocent, with Bess standing up for her. But it’s not over yet. She and Guildford are still imprisoned, and it looks as though hatred, prejudice, and cruelty will change their kingdom forever. But this is a fantasy, and a romance, and we--as well as Jane and Guildford--will get the Happy Ever After ending we’ve been promised.

It’s a triumph created by Gemma Burgess (Mavericks), directed by Jamie Babbit (But I’m a Cheerleader) and Stefan Schwartz, and it is streaming now on Amazon Prime. 

All eight episodes of My Lady Jane are streaming on Prime Video.