Wertman portrays her discreet and plain Jane Seymour as a religious and political focal point in this delicate historical novel with romance elements, the first volume of the Seymour Saga, set in the volatile court of Henry VIII. In 1535, King Henry is traveling through England to meet his people. Queen Anne Boleyn has not given him the son he desperately needs, only the daughter Elizabeth, and King Henry is searching for a new wife. Unmarried Jane, a maid to the fiery queen, is 27 and on the verge of spinsterhood; her domineering brother Edward has been unable to arrange a suitable marriage for her. During the king’s procession through England, he stops to visit Jane’s ancestral home, Wolf Hall, where she has made all the arrangements for his visit. They share a tender moment that leads to a romantic spark. Pious Jane knows the fatal consequences to Anne, yet she loves Henry and wants to be queen. Wertman describes the pageantry, gowns, and architecture of pre-Elizabethan England; presents an ample cast of nobles and ladies-in-waiting; and exposes the tense religious turmoil and malicious political machinations of the Tudor court, led by dastardly Thomas Cromwell. This enticing, historically accurate story lends immediacy to the events. (BookLife)