So, we’ve all seen My Lady Jane by now, right? 

It’s a historical fantasy TV show on Amazon Prime Video that retells the tale of Lady Jane Grey who is known as the ‘Nine Days’ Queen’ since she was made Queen of England for 9 days before she was executed by Mary I. But this show has changed a lot. And, one of the main changes is that in this universe, there are people that can turn into animals. Yes, humans can turn into animals and these people are called Ethians.

But did you know that My Lady Jane is based on a book of the same name?

Written by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, My Lady Jane is a young adult fantasy romance that follows Lady Jane Grey as she is forced to marry a man that she’s never met and become a reluctant queen. 

The book is told from three different perspectives. The first is Lady Jane Grey, a teenager and cousin to the king, Gifford Dudley, the young man Jane is forced to marry (and he’s also a horse!), and King Edward, the sickly King who names Jane as his heir. 

I don’t laugh at books very often, but this book was genuinely funny. Obviously, the premise itself is kinda funny – Jane marries a horse. Every time Jane said something along the lines of ‘Gifford is a horse,’ I just burst out laughing. You should definitely know what you’re getting yourself into. This book is silly and it’s fun. It is a comedy and it’s not supposed to be taken seriously.

It is not at all historically accurate. The beginning of the book makes it very clear that they will change a lot of things. This will not tell the actual story of what happened to Lady Jane Grey. It makes fun of period-accurate misogyny, the narrators interrupt the story fairly often, and some of the characters TURN INTO ANIMALS.

This book will be perfect for people who want a really fun historical romance. However, that doesn’t mean it didn’t have its problems. 

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Edward’s point of view and I feel like the book could’ve done without his perspective. I was honestly kind of shocked he was a main character in the book. I read the book because I had enjoyed the TV show adaptation so much and Edward’s character in the show seemed like something that would’ve been added just for the show. He was, unfortunately, just kind of boring and his love story wasn’t interesting enough to carry his perspective.

Gifford makes a point of telling everyone that he actually wants to be called ‘G’ instead of his full name. This annoyed me so much. The book was very modern and I was completely fine with that but this was just one step too far.

If you’re coming to the book after watching the TV adaptation, I think you should take into account that the book definitely reads a little bit younger than the show. I went into this knowing it was for a young adult/teen audience so it definitely helped me manage my expectations. The show is a lot more explicit than the book ever was and the book is definitely a bit more of a slow burn.

There are a lot of other things that are different. The book is definitely less diverse. Everyone in the show appears to be white and straight. Stan Dudley was a stand-out character in the TV show, but he’s not really in the book much at all and he’s very different. He’s married and kinda serious. They definitely improved upon his character for the show and made him a lot more fun!

In the TV show, it was actually illegal to be an ethian, but in the book, it was actually legal. Mary wanted to make it illegal to be ethian when she became Queen. The reason that it was legal was because King Henry VIII was actually ethian himself. People called him The Lion King and sometimes he used to lose his temper and turn into a lion for days on end. And he used to eat people.

I definitely think the show is better, but that doesn’t mean the book isn’t worth it. The book is really fun! If you’re upset about the cancellation of the TV adaptation, then the book is a good alternative! Amazon Prime only adapted the first half of the book so there’s a whole bunch of story left for you to enjoy if you’re going to give the book a go! 

One thing that I thought was really interesting about the show was that they seemed to try to hide the fact that people could turn into animals in a lot of the marketing for the show. The trailer I watched before watching the show didn’t mention it at all. The book, however, makes it clear from the blurb that Gifford is a horse. The book itself also makes it pretty clear that he’s a horse right from the beginning.

So, the show is fantastic and the book is definitely worth a read if you’re missing it already!