Product Description

Doomed queen of Henry VIII, mother to Elizabeth I, the epic story of Anne Boleyn.Anne Boleyn was the most controversial and scandalous woman ever to sit on the throne of England. From her early days at the imposing Hever Castle in Kent, to the glittering courts of Paris and London, Anne caused a stir wherever she went. Alluring but not beautiful, Anne's wit and poise won her numerous admirers at the English court, and caught the roving eye of King Henry. Anne was determined to shape her own destiny, first through a secret engagement to Henry Percy, the heir of the Earl of Northumberland, and later through her insistence on marriage with the king, after a long and tempestuous relationship as his mistress. Their love affair was as extreme as it was deadly, from Henry's 'mine own sweetheart' to 'cursed and poisoning whore' her fall from grace was total.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61504 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

About the Author
Elizabeth Norton gained her first degree from the Universiy of Cambridge, and her Masters from the University of Oxford. Her other books include Jane Seymour: Henry VIII's True Love, Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride (both published by Amberley Publishing) and She Wolves: The Notorious Queens of England. She lives in Kingston Upon Thames.

Customer Reviews

good, but a bit disappointing overall
First, the positives. The book itself is beautifully presented, with many well-chosen pictures and a very nice dust jacket cover. The writing is crisp, the author strives to present a balanced portrayal of Anne, and she does engage with some primary source material to reach her conclusions.
However, maybe I have read too many books about Anne Boleyn, but there did not seem to much new here, and with constant speculative phrases like "Anne certainly would have thought or felt this", the book came off as a bit oversimplified and unsophisticated.
For me, Eric Ives' book on Anne Boleyn is still the definitive work, and probably will remain so, even after G.W. Bernard publishes his own full length work on Anne later this year, which will undoubtedly seek to discredit much of the previous marvellous work that has been done on the subject of Anne Boleyn.
Overall, if someone is looking for a well written concise introduction to Anne Boleyn, this would be a good choice. But a person like me, who has read nearly every book on Anne Boleyn that has been published, is probably going to be left wanting more.

Disappointing
I have read most of the biographies of Anne Boleyn. This book is quite well-written, but brings nothing new at all. Norton does not seem to have researched this in a great deal of depth, and seems to be relying on other people's work in the area. As so much has been written about Anne, this seems pointless. The language at times also sounds almost like historical fiction, asserting facts and feelings that cannot be backed up. If you know nothing about Anne Boleyn, and can't get hold of Joanna Denny's very readable but well-researched book, then I would recommend this. If you already know her story and are looking to research further or to find something new, I'd recommend Eric Ives.

Very readable introduction to a ruthlessly ambitious woman
I got this book as a present, and although I have not read much about the Tudors since school, I quickly got into this pithy and yet surprisingly in-depth account of the most well known of Henry VIII's infamous `wronged women'. I enjoyed this writer's style, never patronising but always full of details and place names that ground this book in reality, which was helped by the more gritty choice of pictures, that steers mainly away from the standard `postage stamp portraits' that abound in many history books! Unlike more scholarly historical biographies, there were no chapters on themes or specific issues in Anne's life - instead, the book is a mainly chronological treatment of Anne's life story. The most refreshing thing, though, about this book that made it a really worthwhile read, is that the author did not descend into the usual trends of either rubbishing or scandalising a (rather sensational) woman, but then did not gloss over less worthy moments in her life. An enjoyable, but informative, account.