One of history’s most complex and alluring women, Anne Boleyn was irresistible to kings and commoners alike. Daughter of an ambitious country lord, Anne was sent to France to marry well and raise the family’s fortunes. She soon surpassed even their greatest expectations when King Henry VIII swore he would put aside his loyal queen to make Anne his wife. And so he did, though the divorce would tear apart the English church and inflict religious turmoil and bloodshed on his people for generations to come.
Loathed by the English people, Anne was soon caught in the trap of her own ambition. When she failed to produce a much-desired male heir, her political rivals closed in, wrongfully accusing her of adultery and incest. Anne found herself imprisoned in the Tower of London, at the mercy of her husband and her enemies.
Plaidy's story of Anne Boleyn's life begins near its end, when she is accused of adultery and witchcraft. The author then spins a fictionalized biography using the device of a journal that recounts her life at court, first in France under King Louis XII and King Francis I, and then in England under Henry VIII. Anne Flosnik reads the details and political intrigues of Boleyn's life in a cool, crisp voice. Self-centered and vain, Boleyn continually compares life in France to that in England, finding the latter lacking. Flosnik's narration echoes Boleyn's superficial coolness, though her slow enunciation of French words disrupts the flow of her narration. Told exclusively from Boleyn's perspective, the story foregrounds her character and experiences, rather than those of the kings and other members of court, as is usually the case with Tudor history. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
New York Times...
"Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama."
About the Author
JEAN PLAIDY, one of the preeminent authors of historical fiction for most of the twentieth century, is the pen name of the prolific English author Eleanor Hibbert, also known as Victoria Holt. Jean Plaidy’s novels had sold more than 14 million copies worldwide by the time of her death in 1993.
