Anne Boleyn

It's easy to read, and still a good read. Anne was an interesting woman...and you have to feel for her, and for Catherine.

Incidentally, you also encounter some other interesting people on the side, such as (soon-to-be-Bloody) Mary and (soon-to-be-martyred) Thomas Cranmer....and, not-so-incidentally, also the Cardinal, the Pope, and all the other functionaries who played such a large part in making and breaking marriages.

I'll admit, though, that the main pleasure and point of reading is to see the courtesan conquer the king, like a woman closing the jaws of a lion.

But whatever episode the authoress touches on--the attitude of the country, Thomas Cromwell's plan for the monasteries, Anne's intimate & understanding conversations with show more her brother, her ups and down on the path to power, the glimpses we catch of the infant Elizabeth, as well as of her father, the king-- she touches on with skill.

(9/10) show less

Reviewed August 2000 This book begins with Anne as a teenager and promised to marry Henry Percy - Henry VIII visits her parents home and falls in love with her. The novel hits on all the main areas of Anne and Henry’s relationship and is told from many viewpoints. In order for it to be a novel much is made about her hatred of Mary and Catherine as well as her love of Percy. What is not done well is the passage of time, you really don’t know how old she is at various stages, nor can you feel the time spent in the courtship. Novels at this type are very helpful as it helps to sum up relationships and work out motivations. One must always remember that this is still a novel - well researched - but still a historical novel. 19-2000

Not the most interesting novel about Anne Boleyn that I have read.

Rated 3 stars. Read in 2024. Published in 1957; this was one of my Mother's favorite books. I didn't like this as much as her novels of Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. Probably because I read the magnificent Wolf Hall trilogy a few years back. I understand that her espionage novels are highly rated so maybe will read those sometime in the future.