A fairly balanced account of Lady Jane, with heavy emphasis on her role in Van Dieman’s Land where she clearly manipulated her husband’s performance as Governor General while always denying any involvement in the politics of the island. It comes across as an indictment of an ineffectual and easily swayed Sir John and a controlling Lady Jane. Alexander dwells somewhat on Franklin’s prim Protestantism, Sabbatarianism, and Scriptural grounding while Jane comes across as much less concerned about such matters. Disappointingly little about the James Clark Ross visit to Hobart, or about Franklin’s interactions with some North American political convicts.
David H. Stam's Anthologies of the Reading Experience