Hayley Nolan

I really enjoyed this book; thus the five star rating. Now for the details.

Ever since I watched Anne of a Thousand Days on tv with my grandma when I was a child, Anne Boleyn has been of interest to me. In grade school, I know I read every book in the school library that even mentioned her. And just recently, I watched Blood, Sex and Royalty on Netflix. With that as context, I certainly had a very consistent understanding of the life of Anne Boleyn.

This book turned a lot of that understanding on it's head. Now, I am not a historian so I have not done any kind of independent research on this topic. (Further, being American that type of research would be a bit difficult so I need to rely on experts.) When I finished the book, I did take time to review some of the comments and reviews of the book. There are those that argue that the picture of Anne painted in this book is not 100% accurate. I will admit that if Anne was actually as intelligent and savvy as this book makes her out to be, I do wonder if she would have been able to avoid her fate. I know that sounds like a criticism of the book but it actually is not.

What this book provides is another reading of the historical facts such as are available. So much of historical research becomes conjecture when there is no clear context for the documents and information that are available. This is exactly why I gave this book a five-star rating. It provided me with a viewpoint that can be compared to other historical narratives. A good student of history is open to other viewpoints.… (mais)

This book is trying to rehabilitate Ann as a Reformist martyr. The author's argument is strong. I've been aware of Anne's Protestant leanings and reading and that she did have a number of good works as well as a fine mind, and she and Henry were together on this for awhile - especially with Henry wanting to overthrow the Pope's influence as he wanted to marry Anne...the book is interesting, and warrants reading as a balance to most fictional accounts of it all being about sex and infatuation. It adds in the religious and political movements of the day, their tensions, and their effects on Henry VIII. But the writing is not balanced, it reads more like a screed. The author simply protests too much, and is constantly putting her own feminist ideology and religious convictions into the mix with lots and lots of sarcastic asides. A good editor would have really helped. You never see - or I certainly didn't - the person, Anne Boleyn in this book. She got lost in the author's argumentative presentation.… (mais)