Jane Lane (author)
Encyclopedia
Jane Lane was the pen name of Elaine Kidner Dakers, a British historical novelist and biographer distantly related to the Jane Lane
who aided Charles II
after his defeat at Worcester
. She is best known for her books about the Stuart period
and 18th century Scotland
, written from a Catholic and Royalist
perspective. A State of Mind is unique among her books, being set in a dystopia
n future.
The Tablet
described her as "one of the few contemporary writers who excel both as novelists and historians".
The Escape series (for younger readers)
Non-fiction
Jane Lane, Lady Fisher
Jane Lane played a heroic role in the Escape of Charles II in 1651. The main significance of the story is the key part that the escape played in forming the character and the opinions of Charles.-Origins:...
who aided Charles II
Escape of Charles II
The Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life.-The fugitive king:...
after his defeat at Worcester
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
. She is best known for her books about the Stuart period
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
and 18th century Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, written from a Catholic and Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
perspective. A State of Mind is unique among her books, being set in a dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n future.
The Tablet
The Tablet
The Tablet is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Contributors to its pages have included Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Paul VI ....
described her as "one of the few contemporary writers who excel both as novelists and historians".
Selected works
Novels- Sir Devil-May-Care (1937) (The English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
) - He Stooped to Conquer (1944) (The Massacre of GlencoeMassacre of GlencoeEarly in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, an infamous massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in...
) - Gin and Bitters (1945) (Early 18th Century London and the South Sea Bubble)
- His Fight is Ours (1946) (Background to the 1745 RisingJacobite risingThe Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
) - London Goes To Heaven (1947) (London under the CommonwealthCommonwealth of EnglandThe Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
and ProtectorateThe ProtectorateIn British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653–1659 during which the Commonwealth of England was governed by a Lord Protector.-Background:...
) - Parcel of Rogues: The Plot Against Mary of Scotland (1948) (Mary, Queen of Scots and the regencies)
- Fortress in the Forth (1950) (JacobiteJacobitismJacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
prisoners on Bass RockBass RockThe Bass Rock, or simply The Bass, , is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It is approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick. It is a steep-sided volcanic rock, at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of gannets...
1691–94) - Dark Conspiracy (1951) (The Rye House PlotRye House PlotThe Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York. Historians vary in their assessment of the degree to which details of the conspiracy were finalized....
against Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
) - The Sealed Knot (1952) (The English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
) - Lady of the House a.k.a. The Countess at War (1953) (The English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
) - The Phoenix and the Laurel (1954) (John Graham of ClaverhouseJohn Graham, 1st Viscount of DundeeJohn Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee , known as the 7th Laird of Claverhouse until raised to the viscounty in 1688, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian...
) - Thunder on St. Paul's Day (1956) (Titus OatesTitus OatesTitus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
and the "Popish PlotPopish PlotThe Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
") - Conies in the Hay a.k.a. Rabbits in the Hay a.k.a. The Cross and the Tower (1957) (The Babington PlotBabington PlotThe Babington Plot was a Catholic plot in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, on the English throne. It led to the execution of Mary. The long-term goal was an invasion by the Spanish forces of King Philip II and the Catholic league in...
1586) - Sow the Tempest (1960) (Henry VIIIHenry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's divorce from Catherine of AragonCatherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
) - Farewell to the White Cockade (1961) (Bonnie Prince CharlieCharles Edward StuartPrince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
) - The Crown for a Lie (1962) (How James IIJames II of EnglandJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
lost the throne) - A State of Mind (1964) (The Post-Atomic Future)
- A Wind through the Heather (1965) (The Highland ClearancesHighland ClearancesThe Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
) - From the Snare of the Hunters (1968) (The Last Days of Jesus of NazarethJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
) - The Questing Beast (1970) (The English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
) - Ember in the Ashes (1970) (Roman Catholics in 18th century England)
- The Severed Crown (1972) (Charles ICharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
) - Bridge of Sighs (1973) (Mary of ModenaMary of ModenaMary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
) - Heirs of Squire Harry (1974) (Edward VIEdward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
) - A Summer Storm (1976) (The Peasants' Revolt, 1381)
- A Secret Chronicle (1977) (Edward IIEdward II of EnglandEdward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
)
The Escape series (for younger readers)
- The Escape of the King (1957) (The young Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
) - The Escape of the Queen (1957) (Mary, Queen of Scots)
- The Escape of the Prince (1958) (Bonnie Prince CharlieCharles Edward StuartPrince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
) - The Escape of the Duke (1960) (Charles I's son James, Duke of YorkJames II of EnglandJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
) - The Escape of the Princess (1962) (Clementina SobieskiMaria Klementyna SobieskaMaria Clementina Sobieska was a Polish noblewoman, the granddaughter of the Polish king John III Sobieski.-Biography:...
)
Non-fiction
- King James the Last (1942)
- Titus Oates (1949)
- Puritan, Rake and Squire (1950)