Laura Andersen

This disappointing alternate-history tale takes an intriguing idea but bogs it down with glacial pacing and ends with a cliff-hanger – an instant disqualification in my book, for any author.

Andersen’s basic idea is full of potential – suppose Anne Boleyn had eventually given Henry the son for which he had delegitimized his firstborn daughter, set aside his lawful wife, and broken the hold of the Catholic church on the crowned heads of Europe? How would the course of history have been show more changed, or would the ebb and flow of royal intrigue and military adventure have followed the same general path without the indomitable Elizabeth I on the British throne?

The novel begins as Anne Boleyn’s son, William, approaches his eighteenth birthday, ready to leave behind the regency that had guided him after Henry’s death, and become king in his own right. Much of the story is told through the eyes of Minuette, a young woman who shares William’s birthdate and who has been groomed from childhood for a place in court. The other players include names well-known to readers familiar with the historical Tudor court and its intrigues. There are Seymours and Howards aplenty, Lady Jane Grey, the disinherited Mary and the endless Catholic plots surging around her, Elizabeth, Robert Dudley, the sabre-rattling of France and Spain, and even Mary, Queen of Scots in a distant but acknowledged orbit.

The problem is that Andersen sets everything in motion, and then bogs the action down with a couple hundred pages in which not much happens except that the powers behind the throne move their pawns around the chessboard and young William removes himself from pawnhood with military victories and intricate diplomatic maneuvers.

Things only get interesting again when William ceases to think of Minuette as a childhood playmate and realizes she is a desirable young woman. Unfortunately, this creates a romantic triangle that also involves William’s lifelong companion, Dominic. Things get exciting in the last quarter of the book as Minuette is drawn into a dangerous game involving the search for a possibly-forged document that could incite Mary’s followers to open rebellion and as William privately declares his intention to make Minutette his queen, never mind that he has just been betrothed to a French princess.

And just as things seem to be drawing to a head, Andersen drops in another plot complication and abruptly ends this first entry in the Boleyn Trilogy. Sorry, but that just knocked the rest of this series right off my TBR list. show less

The book of alternative or speculative history offers an interesting way to approach a time and place many of us have already seen a few times, in fiction and nonfiction. The conceit is that Anne Boleyn is safely delivered of a son, saving her own life and changing the course of English history. William becomes Henry IX upon his father's death when he's a child -- but does not really assume his reign until he turns 18, which is the time of the book's action. He is close to his older sister, show more Elizabeth, and his mother, Anne. He is also close to two fictional characters, a ward of the queen known as Minuette and a friend and older brother-stand in named Dominic. When reading historical fiction, you generally know where the story is headed (Anne will get her head chopped off, Elizabeth will eventually assume the throne, etc.). It was fun to realize I had no idea where this story was going, since the ground rules had been changed. There were a few times the language sounded a bit too contemporary but I'm a forgiving sort with historical fiction, figuring the author was trying to convey the spirit of young adults coming of age in a potentially deadly milieu. show less

First my sincere thanks to the author, publisher and LibraryThing because I received my copy of The Boleyn King from one of their Early Reviewers giveaways. I really enjoyed this book for a number of reasons, and not for the very least because I love historical novels or the fact it has "Boleyn" in the title. Within the genre, books involving European monarchies are usually among my favorites and it's always hard to resist any story involving the lives of Henry VIII and his wives, so you can show more imagine how my interest was immediately piqued.

Except with this book, there's a twist. Whether or not that's good or bad will depend on what kind of historical fiction reader you are. For myself, I typically don't mind reading historical novels that include a fantasy element or touch of something different, so in a way this was right up my alley. In the case of The Boleyn King, the thing to know is that it is an alternate history, a re-imagined account of what might have happened if certain events hadn't played out the way they had.

In fact, I thought the main idea behind the book was quite an interesting and very creative one. It basically asks: What if Anne Boleyn did not miscarry in 1536, but actually gave birth to a son, the male heir Henry VIII so desperately wanted? The boy grows up to be Henry IX, also known as William. Though he is young, all signs are pointing to William becoming a good and competent king, but his reign is put to the test when conspiracy invades his court and war with the French looms on the horizon. Despite being watched over by Anne and her brother the regent Lord Rochford, William only trusts three people in his life: his older sister Elizabeth, his best friend Dominic, and his mother's young ward Minuette.

This is not your typical historical novel. The setting as well as some of the characters are real, but that's pretty much where it ends. It's not so much a book depicting actual events or the perspectives of historical persons than it is one giant "What if?" scenario, so the author has a lot of freedom to do some very neat things with the story and characters without the usual constraints, and her re-imagined history and characterization of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's son is a very intriguing one.

It also made me realize the story has so much potential. The Boleyn King is only the first book of a trilogy, so I'm looking forward to seeing what else has been planned for the setting and characters, especially if Laura Andersen decides to give more involvement to actual historical persons and events. So far, much of the plot has been given to romance, but there's also the mystery, intrigue and politics that she established and I would very much love to see that those aspects get as much attention as the relationship details in future books. Since I think this is shaping up to be a historical romance series, I think the author struck a very good balance. Like I said, the idea has so much potential, and while I enjoy the romantic drama, I just wouldn't want to see it overshadow everything else she has set up here.

I think the untapped potential also exists for the characters. Right now, my feelings for them are somewhat mixed. The story is told through the perspectives of the "Four Stars": William, Elizabeth, Dominic, and Minuette. I like William, though I think his characterization could stand to go a bit further than just your teenage king full of youthful arrogance and bravado who longs to prove himself, but I have a feeling that will develop more as his character matures in future books. Dominic feels like the familiar romantic young adult hero, whose honor and pride prevents him from telling the woman he loves how he feels, which leads to a lot of brooding and pining on his part. I might have been more frustrated with the slew of relationship conflicts that arise from this, if I hadn't been so busy sympathizing with him the whole time.

Elizabeth is my favorite, but I noticed that in this book she is very similar to a lot of the other depictions of her in historical fiction -- serious, austere, and collected. Now, I can understand why the author would do that for a someone like, say, Anne Boleyn, who is often characterized as sharp and crafty because of her reputation, so it's just going with the grain by portraying her like that too. But in an alternate history where King Henry VIII gets his son by Anne, I figured that spending her life growing up alongside a boisterous little brother who is heir apparent might have had a greater effect on Elizabeth's personality.

Once again I'm just contemplating at the potential for something more, but it's really not that big a deal since I still really enjoyed Elizabeth's character overall. In contrast, I did not care for Minuette at all. She's a little too idealized for my tastes, a bit too perfect. It seems everyone loves her sweet, kind nature, no one at court is immune to her charms, the men in the book are tripping over themselves and each other for her affections, and all of them are like, "What would we ever do without our darling Minuette?" Her character was too much for me, too many pros, not enough cons, and I just would prefer it if she'd been a little more balanced.

The way things are going though, I think the characters will probably grow on me in the next book, because I already know I'll be picking it up when it comes out. This was a very creative idea for a historical novel and I'm really curious to see what it'll lead to and how far it will go. Alternate history stories are often filled with imagination and wishful thinking, but I find pondering "what could have been" can also be quite entertaining and a lot of fun. show less

These haunting words sets the stage for a new and innovative series surrounding the now well-discussed myths of the Henry VIII's many wives, particularly the struggle of Anne Boleyn. As many readers (and fans of Showtime's The Tudors) know, Anne's downfall was her inability to produce a son for Henry. In The Boleyn King, author Laura Andersen temps fate and explores a fascinating "what if" scenario, asking what would have happened if Anne had given Henry the son he so desperately show more wanted.

After giving birth to Elizabeth, Anne was desperate to have a son. And, in this alternative history, she gives birth to a living son. Having proven herself to Henry, Anne installs herself as his Queen and true wife, while Henry William, known as William, grows into the future King, alongside his sister Elizabeth and half-sister Mary.

Andersen weaves a fascinating and seemingly accurate depiction of how the politics (and future) of Europe would have been significantly different. Yet, I was amazed at Andersen's close attention to detail in her depiction of the radically different European landscape, and just how different history would have played out at this one seemingly small difference. I particularly enjoyed seeing Anne live into an older age, and seeing what may have happened to Anne's family, had it not been completely decimated.

I also found the character of Henry William to be believable as the child of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. I particularly enjoyed that the story remained focused on him and how this existence sent ripples through Europe and set the stage for even more drama. I really have to applaud Andersen for being gutsy enough to attempt this -the very first Tudor alternative history novel I've ever seen. It's fresh and innovative, but also feels like it could have been real. show less