by Susan Meissner
Waterbrook Multnomah
Jane Lindsay is heartbroken as she watches Brad, her husband of twenty two years, walk out the door of their Manhattan apartment. Devastated and confused, she wonders how their marriage got to this point. How does one make sense of something they didn't see coming? Jane doesn't know, and is clueless as to what to do next.
Feeling as though she has no rudder, she stumbles through her days at her antique shop. One day is brightened slightly when she finds an old ring under the cover of a 16th century prayer book. Intrigued, she launches a search to find its origin. She feels a connection with the mysterious owner, for the name engraved on the inside of the ring belongs to her as well. Jane.
Rewind the calendar to 1548, and we find an equally distraught young English girl by the name of Lady Jane Grey. At eleven years of age, she is the chief mourner at the funeral of her friend, Queen Katherine. The little Lady is not only grieving the Queen, but saddened that Katherine's infant daughter will never know her mother. Politics and family circumstances dictate that Jane's slight frame bear more than it should.
Tutors and higher learning fill the young Lady's days. Jane's desire is to have the approval and affection of her mother, but knows it will never happen. In time the young Edward Seymour grows fond of Jane, and she of him. He bestows her with a secret gift as a promise for their future.
Both Janes struggle to find their purpose and the answers they long for. Our modern Jane relies on her friend Molly for a listening ear, the Lady Jane, her seamstress Lucy. Only our modern Jane, though, has the privilege of knowing how they might be connected. Do they experience life's hard lessons? Yes. Do they grow and change? Perhaps.
I read Ms. Meissner's book, The Shape of Mercy and enjoyed it so much that I knew I had to read Lady in Waiting. She has a gift for taking two people, who are outwardly unrelated, and linking them together through the bonds of hidden similarities and challenges. There's much to be said for the ties of kindred spirits and the stories that lie within. Ms. Meissner's storytelling ability is wonderful and I hope that she continues writng this way. I, for one, am a big fan.
To download and preview the first four chapters of Lady in Waiting click here.
Happy reading,
