Latest news with #MyLadyJane
New York Times
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
You've Attended the Tale of Sweeney Todd. Now Hear Mrs. Lovett's Story.
For half a century — much longer, if you go back to the original 1840s penny dreadfuls — people have thrilled to the story of Sweeney Todd, the murderous London barber who cut short the lives of priests, fops, sailors and one especially loathsome judge before he met his own gruesome end. Sweeney's tragic losses and appetite for vengeance have been well documented, most notably by the musical genius of Stephen Sondheim. But what of his partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, who popped his poor victims into her pies? Does her tale not need attending, too? David Demchuk and Corinne Leigh Clark's epistolary novel 'The Butcher's Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett' gives the woman beside the man her own turn in the spotlight. Part Victorian historical fiction, part grisly horror, the book follows a mysterious woman, Margaret C. Evans, a.k.a. Margery, as she recounts her life story to a never-seen (and, we learn at the opening of the book, missing) journalist, who is investigating the disappearance of Mrs. Lovett 50 years before. Though she does not disclose her true identity outright until fairly deep in the novel, it is clear within the first few pages that Margery is Mrs. Lovett, who — in a departure from the source material, where she is killed by Sweeney — is very much alive and confined to a nunnery. Margery's harrowing tale reframes Mrs. Lovett not as a villain but as a maligned girl fighting to survive. She's a seductively evocative narrator, making it easy to forget that her every word should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. It will surprise nobody familiar with the musical that this is a gory book. The violence starts early, at Margery's father's butcher shop, where she is awakened each morning by the sounds and smells of sheep being slaughtered, and where it is a shame bordering on sin to let anything go to waste. At 16, Margery catches the eye of a wealthy surgeon when a toddler is hit by a carriage in front of her shop and, in an attempt to save the child's life, she amputates his leg. When Margery's father dies soon thereafter, her mother sends her to work for the doctor. The horrors only increase from there: In the surgeon's home, Margery faces medical experiments, botched abortions, Freemason conspiracies. By the time she lands in the pie shop on Fleet Street, she has been drugged and forcibly inseminated, fallen in love with a deaf prostitute, had her baby stolen and murdered the shop's owner — oh, and discovered there's a serial killer upstairs who keeps dropping corpses in her back room. Demchuk and Clark have clearly done their research, crafting a ghoulish version of 1830s Britain that sets the stage for Margery's misadventures. The book seems to be aiming for the sort of feminist reclaiming of familiar stories that have proliferated in recent years, from the lushly literary ('Circe') to the fantastically irreverent ('My Lady Jane'). But in making Mrs. Lovett a vulnerable yet determined teenager, and in focusing on the brutal realities facing women — especially single, working-class ones — in the early 19th century, the authors lose some of the madcap genius that makes her so fun onstage. That Lovett is enterprising — an innovator, if a macabre one; this Lovett struggles to stay afloat. That Lovett is disturbingly zany; this one is, by unfortunate necessity, a realist. This is a wild, high-octane, blood-soaked tale, but by the end, everything crimps together just a little too neatly (with one final, groan-worthy twist). Life, like baking or butchery, is a messy business. I wish the authors had left a bit more room for untidy possibilities.
Metro
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
7 'captivating' period dramas on Amazon Prime that you can binge now
I think we can all agree that the modern world is frequently a busy and bewildering place. Is it any wonder, then, that period dramas have exploded in popularity in recent years as weary TV viewers seek some respite from buzzing phones, blinding lights, and busy brunch schedules? No, of course it's not. Who doesn't love a bit of Regency pomp, some medieval intrigue, or even 1920s glam? But where's the discerning TV fan supposed to find these shows? Well, Amazon Prime Video has a library crammed with enough historical dramas to keep even the most voracious TV binger busy. Here are the 7 Amazon Prime historical dramas to watch if you love Peaky Blinders For those who like their historical fantasy a bit more punk, I'd recommend My Lady Jane. Set in an alternate 16th-century England, the series imagines a world where Lady Jane Grey's brief reign as Queen (she ruled for just nine days before being overthrown by Queen Mary) wasn't so brief. Boasting an impressive 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, the series is a blast featuring thrilling court intrigue, scintillating romance, and even shape-shifting magical creatures (It's an alternate reality,y just roll with it). Is it any wonder fans have labelled the series the 'best show of 2024' or that George RR Martin has been asking Amazon to consider commissioning a second season? For a swashbuckling adventure, binge-watch Black Sails, a TV prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Treasure Island. Set in the early 18th century, the historical drama follows the pirates of New Providence Island as they hunt for the Spanish shipwreck, Urca de Lima, to uncover treasures. If that's not enough to entice you, Tom Long of the Detroit News previously said of Black Sails: 'Alliances are made and broken, power shifts go this way and that, blood is spilled, and wenches keep wenching. It's oddly addictive.' Long before Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer, there was Manhattan, which retold the creation of the atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. While the show wasn't strictly historically accurate (nor did it claim to be), it did feature real-life figures, including head scientist Robert Oppenheimer played by Daniel London. Manhattan has flown woefully under the radar since its debut more than a decade ago in 2014, but fans, who have rediscovered it on Amazon Prime Video, have described it as 'captivating.' If you're yearning for a British period drama that's more historically accurate than My Lady Jane, then The Tudors is the answer. Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII and following the monarch's many trials and tribulations as his ability to rule was put under strain by international conflicts and political power struggles playing out in his own court. Upon hitting screens in 2007, the show became the highest-rated Showtime series debut in three years and has been hailed as a 'masterpiece' and 'phenomenal' by viewers. Oh, you want to see more of King Henry VIII? Well, look no further than The Spanish Princess, based on the life of one of his many wives. Running for two seasons, which aired in 2019 and 2020, it stars Charlotte Hope as Catherine of Aragon, the titular princess who was crowned the Queen of England when she married King Henry VIII, played by Ruairi O'Connor. 'The Spanish Princess is the ideal period soap, dexterously and intelligently balancing the webby intrigue of 16th-century court life with the dewy eroticism of a classic melodrama. There's no guilt here. Just pleasure,' The Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review. Lavish series Versailles caused quite a stir when it premiered in 2016 for its graphic sex scenes, including a 24-person orgy, and not shying away from gory violence. Set in the Baroque era, the show is a no-holds-barred depiction of the court of King Louis XIV (George Blagden) – and the continuous rumours of sex sessions and gluttony that took place in the period. Speaking about the show previously to Metro, George said: 'I remember hearing this incredible phrase, 'bedrooms were boardrooms at Versailles', and it's just such an amazing idea and concept to play with.' Leonardo has all the ingredients of a classic TV show – a beautiful period backdrop, a complex historical figure and an accusation of murder – so fetch your remote. More Trending It stars Poldark's Aidan Turner as Leonardo da Vinci and lifts the lid on the Italian artist, inventor and Renaissance man's personal life, including the belief that he had male lovers. Describing the series, Aidan previously told Metro: 'It's not just a straightforward historical look at his life. We were trying to get to the essence as to who the man was behind the artist.' View More » An earlier version of this story was published on February 19, 2025. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Amazon Prime drops all episodes of 'one of the best TV shows ever made' MORE: 20 best new TV shows of 2025, according to Rotten Tomatoes MORE: 'Sinfully fun' new sequel on Amazon Prime lands surprising Rotten Tomatoes score
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'It's important to tell queer stories and make people to feel like they're worthy'
Harry Trevaldwyn speaks with Yahoo's Queer Voices about his debut novel The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King, representation and more. He is an author and actor known for The Acolyte and My Lady Jane, and he will soon star in the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake. The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King is out now in bookstores. When I was younger I didn't have that many of queer TV shows to turn to. I think what's so exciting about the TV, films and books now is that it feels so much more right on the top of culture. And that's maybe because that's what I'm looking for, but when I was growing up I didn't really have those things. I had love stories and I had stories that I'd love and be very invested in, but I would very much be a surveyor of those love stories so I would kind of be watching from the sidelines. And that's what I think is so exciting about representation in general, is that you have lots of different love stories in the spotlight. I think it allows people to feel like they are worthy of those big plotlines in their own life. That's what I try to do in my new book The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King, it is a story about a boy, Patch, who decides this is the year he's going to get a boyfriend but he doesn't care who it is. It's a story about the trials and tribulations, and the sort of disastrous situations that he puts himself through in the pursuit of love. Watch the full Queer Voices interview with Harry Trevaldwyn below To have my first book published is really a dream come true. It was something that I wanted to do but I didn't know what the story was gonna be, I didn't know who the characters would be, and then slowly they came together. I think I'm such a big fan of romance and of comedy, and the books that I read when I was growing up — YA books — meant so much to me and made me a reader. So I think that was always what I wanted to do, to maybe introduce someone new to the world of reading, or if they're already a big reader introduce them into a wonderful world anyway. My experience of being an author has felt honestly entirely chic, I've loved it so much. I should call myself an author more, but it still feels very pretentious to but I will start doing it, I promise. But it's been lovely, it's a tricky thing, I think, when you've spent so long on a story and in a world and then you do have to release of 'oh it's it's actually out of my hands, literally, and it's in other people's hands' and that's scarier. Because you really care about the characters and you feel quite protective of them, but it's been a really lovely experience for people finding Patch and finding Jean, and finding this world and being so positive about it — it has been has been very special. I've received some really wonderful messages on Instagram and also I've done a few in-person events now, and I think speaking to young people has been a very special part of releasing the book. Obviously it's crossover, so it's for YA readers but also it kind of spans quite a big age range, because I wrote what I would find funny and so it's really interesting the different things that different age groups have kind of picked out from it, and discussing all those different areas has been very rewarding. There's always room to improve, of course. I think I was nervous when I was writing the book, it really was a very special thing. When I wrote the book I was writing what I like finding and what I wanted to write thinking that there maybe wouldn't be a big response from the publishing industry, but I hoped that it'd find a home somewhere. I was kind of doing it, not really with that in mind, and thinking like 'oh, if it finds a home — great', but then when we sent out the book the response was really so overwhelmingly positive it made me so much more excited about the publishing world and where they're going to go with it. It's a silly gay comedy love story, and they were so excited about it. And I think anyone that treats silliness seriously, that's a very good thing in my mind. I also work as an actor, and to be part of the acting world as well as the writing world is really lovely, and I love being able to do both. That's always what I've dreamed to do, is to do acting and writing together, and I do think they inform each other quite a lot. It's been it's been a very lovely balance so far, which we'll see how it goes. In terms of shows I wish I had growing up, my gosh there are so many. Heartstopper comes to mind as a show that I wish I'd had. It's a Sin too, it was obviously talking about a very serious thing but there was also so much joy and so much community. I think Big Boys, which has just come out. There's so many beautiful, funny, joyful stories out there and that's been such a gift. I think that I wish I had all of that when I was growing up, it would have made me feel a lot braver. I think in terms of writing is Russell T Davies is such a great role model, he's done so much and really made it. He turns these crazy stories into a cultural phenomenon, and I think that's amazing and it's really paved the way for other other stories to be told. But there are so many people, I think anytime I go to a pride march or trans pride march, or any of these marches, you hear people talk so passionately about their experiences. We're so lucky that there are so many around. Dylan Mulvaney is also one, I've just received her new book Paper Doll and I'm very excited about that. I think she's doing so many things, I think the fact that people get her as a role model is so exciting because she's the funniest woman in the world. I definitely think queer creatives are given more room to share their stories, the breadth of those stories has massively expanded as well. And I think there's so much nuances to it to where it can be very funny or they can be problematic characters, and hopefully that's a trajectory that keeps on growing and keeps on expanding. That's something I explore in my book, I hope that people see Patch as someone who has such infectious confidence in who he is and he's not great a lot of the time, but he wears it well. And I hope that is something that people take away, that you can be entirely yourself, however loud, however flamboyant that is and still be worthy of love. Both those things can exist, you don't have to change yourself in order for it to fit. I've always been a rom-com person, I think that the romance of it is so important because I think so many people live without it, or lived in fear of it, or lived with shame of it, so I think comedy is such a release of shame, and to tell a story and make it funny can feel so liberating. So I think the more comedies there are, I think, the better. I say that and I'm also putting myself out there for casting for comedies, thanks so much. When it comes to trolls or those spouting bigotry, honestly ignore them. You're always gonna get people that don't like change and I think whenever I hear about those voices it honestly just fuels me to do more. And I think there was something really interesting said, I can't remember the exact phrasing of it, but someone said to be woke — which I think has somehow become this insult — means to care, as in it means that you care about things, what a brilliant thing to be! Honestly, I think, the more the better. It's protecting people that need protecting, why wouldn't you do that? My advice to young queer people in these trying times would be to find your people and hold onto them. I think it can feel really, really lonely sometimes and that's why I think it's important to have more things there are out there to show that you're not alone and there is so much community out there waiting for you. You just need to find it. The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King is out now.
Buzz Feed
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
27 Canceled TV Shows That Are — Quite Literally — The Reason I Have Trust Issues
We asked the BuzzFeed Community which canceled TV shows need to come back for at least one more season. Here's what they said: 1. My Lady Jane (2024) Number of seasons: 1 "Perfect (and highly rated) season. It's the historical retelling of a queen, it has strangers/enemies to lovers/forced marriage tropes, and shapeshifters exist! Need it renewed nowww!" — grumpypumpkin44 2. Dead Boy Detectives (2024) Number of seasons: 1 "This show had such good queer representation, and besides, was near-perfect with their casting, and the premise was interesting as well. I genuinely do not know what possessed Netflix to cancel it." — thviony " Dead Boy Detectives deserved more time. Fans have been waiting for this show since the original duo from Doom Patrol was recast. Lukas Gage as Cat King was also iconic and ICONIC queer supernatural representation." — reneb4b1d76327" 3. Prodigal Son (2019–2021) 4. My Name Is Earl (2005–2009) 5. Witches of East End (2013–2014) Number of seasons: 2 "Not only did it end on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger brought to life by the AMAZING Mädchen Amick, but it was also about hot and creepy monster sex. It had body-switching hotties, great spells, and believable magic. The closest thing to a Charmed substitute since Rose McGowan took over for Shannen Doherty!" — cheesywizard644 6. Mindhunter (2017–2019) 7. Santa Clarita Diet (2017–2019) 8. Archive 81 (2022) Clifton Prescod / ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection 9. Sense8 (2015–2018) Murray Close/Netflix / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection Number of seasons: 2 "Hands down, Sense8 was a show that should not have been canceled. 100% needs a reboot." — magicalsundae2723 10. Kindred (2022) 11. How to Die Alone (2024) Number of seasons: 1 "A brand new one recently cancelled was How to Die Alone, created by and starring Natasha Rothwell. You might recognize her as Belinda in The White Lotus or Kelli on Insecure. Mel is a broke JFK airport employee who has never experienced love; a near-death accident inspires her to dream and live life again. It's warm, charming, and funny. I liked it a lot, watched it twice through already and am super bummed Hulu isn't picking it up." — joandough 12. Don't Trust the B---- In Apartment 23 (2012–2014) Number of seasons: 2 "It was a great sitcom. ABC did the show dirty by choosing to air episodes out of order, making some storylines hard to follow for viewers. It was funny and ahead of its time. It definitely has a cult following, but I think it would appeal to a bigger audience today. James Van Der Beek was comedy gold!" — hiddenjester715 13. Chasing Life (2014–2015) Number of seasons: 2 "Freeform canceled it on the cliffhanger of April, saying she wanted to stay in Italy and die of her leukemia instead of going home to Boston for the bone marrow transplant that could've saved her life! And the showrunners said they'd planned to save her if they'd been given another season — or literally anything to wrap the story up, but the network wouldn't budge!" — leslies22 14. The Wilds (2020–2022) Number of seasons: 2 "The series was canceled after two seasons, leaving us on a huge cliffhanger. I'm still hungry for more!" — stylishvolcano73 "I binged it while recovering from abdominal surgery, and I'm still so frustrated by the cliffhanger." — skydust "I spent over a year analyzing it and writing theories, and I need to know if I was right." — tv_obsessive_teen 15. A League of Their Own (2022) Number of seasons: 1 "I was heartbroken when I heard it was canceled." — ejt263 "First, Prime Video said it was renewed, then only for four episodes, and finally canceled. A real gut punch to a show with such heart and potential." — buttercupbailey 16. High Fidelity (2020) Hulu / Everett Collection 17. Spinning Out (2020) Netflix / Everett Collection Number of seasons: 1 "The plot was SO good. It was so refreshing for a teen drama to not fit the same high school cookie cutter setting. The acting was high quality, too. This show was perfectly cast, and all of the actors were so amazing. It was unreal! This show covered real issues that people deal with, like mental health. The final episode was set up to imply a second season... I really wish we had the opportunity to see it." — wallows 18. Sweet/Vicious (2016–2017) Mtv / ©MTV/Courtesy Everett Collection Number of seasons: 1 "That show was absolutely amazing and really empowered me. It's so unfair it was canceled." — kxllynxcxlx 19. Legends of Tomorrow Number of seasons: 7 " Legends of Tomorrow deserved its goodbye season. All the other shows that ran longer than two seasons in the DCTV universe got one, and after seven seasons, and just going from strength to strength, they deserved one too." — garebehr 20. Our Flag Means Death (2022–2023) Courtesy HBO Number of seasons: 2 " Our Flag Means Death should have been allowed its final season. It was such a groundbreaking show. I've never seen myself portrayed so clearly on screen." — jennifers94 " Our Flag Means Death gave me so much. I have more friends and more respect and love for myself, to name a few. Its inclusive queer storylines, and representation of neurodivergence made me feel seen and respected for the first time in a long time. We deserve to hear our story told and to see what the final season will bring." — lindsayplaizier "I can't stress enough how much I want just one more season of Our Flag Means Death. It was written to be three seasons, and not only was the second season criminally shortened, affecting the quality, but then the third was unceremoniously cancelled. And it had the viewership!!!!" — whitewoodart 21. Julie and the Phantoms (2020) Number of seasons: 1 "The cliffhanger was too brutal to not give us more episodes. And the MUSIC we're missing out on without a second season? Unreal omg." — denydenydeny "This was when I REALLY started distancing myself from Netflix, and I've had trust issues ever since. 😭" — lilqueenb19 "They left us with a cliffhanger, and I can't accept that." — oddhouse282 22. Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies (2023) Number of seasons: 1 "I was one of the lucky TV watchers who got to see Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies before it was canceled and taken off of Paramount+, and ooof this one hurt. This show had truly some of the most incredible performances by up and coming actors, like I was absolutely floored by the amount of sheer talent this cast possessed. Like, these writers literally gave us MULTIPLE original songs every episode, and the production quality was so incredible that it was like watching mini music videos. Not only was it just a fun take on the movie we know so well, but this series felt so much more inclusive in ways the 1978 movie wasn't. The LGBTQ+ and BIPOC storylines gave the series so much more depth, and I'm so heartbroken those arcs won't get to be explored anymore." — Lauren Garafano "Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies most definitely needs a final season. That show was very entertaining, and the only television show using a musical theme drove the show. I love it, miss it, and want it back!!!" — freshsealion58 23. Shadow and Bone (2021–2023) Netflix / Everett Collection 24. The Society (2019) Number of seasons: 1 "I swear I think about this cancelation at least twice a week. It's this Lord of the Flies -esque story but set in this fictional town in Connecticut, and I ate it up. One of the things that made me so angry was that the series DID get renewed for a second season, but the renewal got reversed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like, at this point I don't even care that the cast is significantly older and it wouldn't even make sense to do a second season. I NEED IT!!!! The Season 1 cliffhanger is truly one of those TV mysteries that haunts me — I just wanna know what happened! Let me at least read the Season 2 script!! Please!!!" — Lauren Garafano " The Society needs a Season 2. I think it's unfair how its renewal was reversed despite it having a much better storyline than some shows." — savorygoat961 25. Pushing Daisies (2007–2009) Number of seasons: 2 "It was such an interesting show. It was almost like a comic book brought to life. The dialogue was kind of rhythmic and pleasing to listen to. The set design was also really colorful and fun to look at — it was cheerful. The Season 2 finale felt rushed and sloppy. They could have done a Season 3. I was gutted when it got axed." — aaronbenb "I have long lamented the demise of Pushing Daisies. It was a victim of the 2007–2008 writers' strike. At the time, it aired most of Season 2, went out of production for nearly a year, and by the time it came back, any momentum it had was gone. The reason for the choppy and awkward final episode is that they had already taped the end of the season before they found out they were canceled, so they had to cobble together a resolution from the footage they had. I still have never watched the final three episodes because it made me so angry that they canceled it. It was fun, fresh, thoughtful, and the visuals were pleasing to behold." — incorrigiblenightowl "It was absolutely brilliant and Lee Pace and Kristin Chenoweth were perfection!" — savana221 26. Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000) Number of seasons: 1 "After only one season, the show didn't get the chance it deserved. It had classic lines and meme-able scenes, too. The show was set up for a second season it never got." — tessap439fbd8db "Does Lindsay follow the Grateful Dead? All of those actors were incredible, and it was such a fun vibe. Plus, I need to know what happens!" — doribullerman 27. And finally, AJ and the Queen (2020) Number of seasons: 1 "As soon as you get invested in the characters, the show ends on a cliffhanger. It was something that I've never seen before on TV. I loved it." — sierram43e95c428 "I need to know if they go back on the road, or did the new club ever open. You can't just leave it with them hugging in the grass after AJ found out her mom didn't write the letters!" — vikings_girl What shows do you think deserve another season? Let us know in the comments! And be sure to send this to any of your friends who (like me) will never get over The Society 's cancellation.
Telegraph
07-03-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Is this the real face of Lady Jane Grey?
English Heritage claims to have found 'compelling' evidence to support the theory that a mystery portrait is of Lady Jane Grey. The identity of the woman dressed in black and white has been the subject of debate for many years. If proved to be Lady Jane, who ruled England for nine days in July 1553, it could be the only known depiction painted in her lifetime. Lady Jane was deposed by her cousin, Mary I, and was aged 16 or 17 at the time of her death. The most famous image of her is Paul Delaroche's 19th century painting which shows her blindfolded before the executioner's block. Hidden features Research conducted by English Heritage, the Courtauld Institute of Art and Ian Tyers, a leading dendrochronologist, has uncovered previously hidden features in the mysterious portrait. Using infrared imaging, the Courtauld found that the sitter's costume was significantly altered after the portrait was first completed. Where now it is subdued, in the past the dress was embellished, with the imagery suggesting more decorative sleeves and a more elaborate head-dress. The white scarf across her shoulders is believed to be a later addition. 'One line of thought is that these changes were a concerted effort to immortalise Jane as a Protestant martyr after her death with a less ostentatious image,' said Peter Moore, curator at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire, where the portrait is on display. The dendrochronology analysis – or tree ring dating – of the painted oak panels dates them to between 1539 and 1571. A merchant's mark, found on the back, is identical to a mark visible on a portrait of Lady Jane's predecessor, Edward VI, suggesting that the wood came from a merchant who supplied royal portrait artists. Iconoclastic attack Experts also confirmed work undertaken by past scholars which showed that the eyes of the portrait had been deliberately scratched out at some point during its lifetime, the sign of an iconoclastic attack. A posthumous image of Lady Jane in the National Portrait Gallery was damaged in the same way. Rachel Turnbull, senior collections conservator for English Heritage, said: 'While we can't confirm that this is definitely Lady Jane Grey, our results certainly make a compelling argument.' The portrait was acquired in 1701 by Anthony Grey, 11th Earl of Kent, and remained for 300 years at Wrest Park, his family home. When the estate was sold in 1917, the work passed into a private collection. It re-emerged for a 2007 exhibition and scholars debated its provenance, with one historian arguing that the portrait depicted Mary Neville Fiennes, Lady Dacre, a contemporary of Lady Jane. The painting has since returned to Wrest Park on loan. Lady Jane continues to fascinate, Helena Bonham Carter played her in 1986 and she was portrayed last year by Emily Bader in a historical fantasy series, My Lady Jane, based on a young adult novel series by Cynthia Hand. Philippa Gregory, the historical novelist, wrote about Lady Jane in her book The Last Tudor and was given the chance to view the portrait in the English Heritage conservation studio. She said: 'Certainly, the features are similar to those of her portrait at the National Portrait Gallery.' She added that if the portrait is indeed of Lady Jane, it is 'a powerful challenge to the traditional representation of her as a blindfolded victim'.
