Anne Boleyn and Me

Elinor Valjean is a young girl in the court of Henry VIII serving Katherine of Aragon and then Anne Boleyn. She sees the drama unfold as Henry wants Anne for his wife, her rise and then fall.

This was a wondeful little read from The My Story collection. I think it's a great way for children to learn about history. Although it is a book aimed at the younger person as an adult I enjoyed it.

Elinor tells what she sees over a decade or so watching the goings on around her. In the meantime she grows up, gets married and has children. Along side Anne Boleyn whose marriage is not happy and she can't give Henry the family he wants, where as Elinor has a happy marriage.

This story is a quick read about Anne Boleyn and covers all the main points. show more Elinor has a chatty narrative and she doesn't like Anne Boleyn, with her version making Anne guilty where as some accounts Anne is innocent.

I really enjoyed this quick read and will read more of the My Story collection. show less

A quick and easy read - not great but a still very informative look at the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn throughout the eyes of a young servant girl

Prince manages to pack a lot of historical information into this novel in the form of a diary. Elinor, the narrator, a minstrel (and daughter of a court jester) who entertains Anne Boleyn but who dislikes her considerably is rather too modern a girl to be quite believed. Nevertheless, the book does make the details of Henry's court accessible if not quite compelling. Recommended for girls 13+.

This is a great story about the infamous Anne Boleyn as told in diary form by her lady-in-waiting, Elinor Valjean. Elinor starts writing in her diary when she is only eleven years old and Anne Boleyn has just caught the eye of King Henry VIII. It ends eleven years later when Anne is beheaded. Simply written, easy to read and with wonderful historical detail, this story gives a great insight into the life of the Tudors. Looking forward to reading more books in this series.

I really enjoyed this book. Having worked with children in various capacities for many years I find reading young people books a great was to engage with them. These days I think there is a greater crossover between books written for young people and adults (Rowling and Pullman are further examples of this)

This book leads on from 'My Tudor Queen' which is the diary of Elinor's mother Eva and Queen Katherine of Aragon. Although of course there wasn't the depth that you would find in a Philippa Gregory novel (which is of course written for the adult market) you do get a sense of the times and how difficult life was for everyone with such a fickle King on the throne.

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.