Bibliographic Information

Title: My Lady Jane

Based on: My Lady Jane (book), by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Creator: Gemma Burgess

Directors: Jamie Babbit and Stefan Schwartz

Network: Amazon Prime Video

Release Date: June 27, 2024

Genre

Historical Romance; Paranormal

Format

TV Series

Average episode run time

54 minutes

Rating

TV-14

Reading Level/Interest Level

Books: Grades 7-11 (per Booklist)

Show: Ages 15+ (per Common Sense Media)

Awards or Honors

None for the book or TV series as of the date of this post.

Episode Summary (S1, E1)

Lady Jane Grey’s father has died, leaving Jane, her mother, and two sisters without wealth and in danger of losing their home and social standing. Jane’s mother, Lady Frances, arranges for Jane to marry Lord Guildford Dudley, a young man rumored to have many vices. The intellectual, independent Jane does not want to marry and tries several strategies to avoid it, including running away, appealing to her cousin, King Edward, and faking her own death.

As it turns out, Lady Jane has more to worry about than getting out of an arranged marriage. There are growing tensions between two races in the kingdom, and a murderous plot against the sick King Edward in the court. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll soon be thrust to the center of danger on several fronts, and will need all of her cunning, and maybe even a little support from her soon-to-be-but-still-unwanted husband, to live through it.

Creator Background

Gemma Burgess has written across a variety of formats, from New Adult fiction to screenplays to creative copy for advertising. She earned a triple degree in English Literature, History, and Theater, and earned a post-graduate degree in Journalism. Born in Australia, she has lived in Singapore, Hong Kong, and London, and currently resides in New York City (Gemma Burgess, n.d.).

Critical Evaluation

My Lady Jane has a great time subverting what’s expected from a period drama, romance, and even paranormal creature story. The voice-over narration is sarcastic and a bit raunchy. The soundtrack features modern female anthemic songs like “Rebel” (Teegan and Sara), “All Day and All of the Night” (Kate Nash), and “I Didn’t Like You Anyway” (The Donnas)(fun resource: My Lady Jane Soundtrack Guide: Every Song & When They Play). The characters are by turns snarky, over-sexed, irreverent, rude, or sometimes downright wacky. But it somehow all works together to form something surprising and different, with acting that is charming enough to wonder what will come next in this edgy take on Tudor England.

Creative Use for a Library Program

A library could have a program for youth where they work collaboratively to “rewrite” a historical event or time period, incorporating modern or fantastical elements to put a new spin on it.

Speed-Round Talk

Think you know what happened to Lady Jane Grey, the famously beheaded Queen of England? Well, think again. Because this Lady Jane Grey is fighting all the powers that be to keep her head and kick some butt.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

Though the My Lady Jane series is rated TV-14, there is some incredibly mature content in it, including pervasive swearing, nudity, and sexual content. I would anticipate a lot of pushback for this, and would advise adult stakeholders to be very aware of the content before allowing youth to screen it, and perhaps reserve the show for older teens.

Reason for Inclusion

The mature content of My Lady Jane pushes against the upper boundary of a materials collection for teens, but I still think it deserves a place here. Retellings are popular with teen readers (Makhijani, 2021), as is romance (Schwartz & Collins, 2022). Jane is also a brave, intelligent, resourceful teenage female protagonist who is wonderful to see at the center of her own story.

In case you’re interested…

My Lady Jane is the first in a 3-book series of retellings centered on famous Janes in fiction and history: Lady Jane Grey, Jane Eyre, and Martha Jane Canary (“Calamity Jane”). Authors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have also written a 3-book series of retellings centered on famous Marys in history: Mary, Queen of Scots, Mary Wollstonecraft, and infamous lady pirate Mary Read. Find out more about all the books at the authors’ website.