Joanna Denny (–2006)

This was a really good book. The author shows Anne Boleyn as a highly intelligent, educated, and devout woman, and that the persona of "the conniving whore" was spread by Anne's enemies.

A casual understanding of the history of Henry VIII and his wives made it seem to me that Henry's request for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon was just done, that he didn't have to fight for it, and that his marriage to Anne Boleyn happened right away. In fact, he waited seven years to marry Anne, and there was still controversy over it. He didn't wait very long to marry Jane Seymour, though. Bastard.… (mer)

This was an extremely biased view of the life of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. The author states that her purpose with the book is to basically rehabilitate Anne in the eyes of history. She wants to put to rest certain myths and legends that have followed Anne through time. While I applaud the effort, Joanna Denny goes to great lengths to make Anne appear saintly and any others opposing her as villains. Catherine of Aragon is presented as a scheming woman who had set her sights on England's throne long before her marriage to Henry VIII, and she is basically castigated for wanting to hold onto her position. Jane Seymour, Anne's successor, is also given harsh treatment. Meanwhile, Anne is held up as the religious and moral standard of the day, who did everything she did in order that she might bring about Protestantism in England.

And Joanna Denny doesn't stop the scurrilous stories with Anne's detractors. She also presents other fictions as facts. Among these she maintains that Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, was murdered by Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, with a pair of poisoned gloves. In fact, a postmortem carried out at the time confirmed that the Queen of Navarre had died of natural causes.

I definitely don't believe that Anne Boleyn deserved the treatment that her husband and history gave to her. But I definitely don't believe that we have a true portrait of the woman contained in this book. Look elsewhere if you want the facts, not pure hagiography.… (mer)

I have read a great deal about both Elizabeth I and her mother, the infamous Anne Boleyn. Most books focus on how evil and manipulative that Anne Boleyn was. However, many of these books pull information from somewhat biased sources.

This book presents Anne not as this evil woman who changed all of England for her whim, but as a victim. Joanna Denny does a good job of presenting her view but her view is also somewhat biased.

Reading this book does provide the reader with a new view into who Anne Boleyn was. It allows the reader the ability to see her in a new light and make a better decision on who she was and what she stood for.

I definitely recommend this for anyone who wants to get more insight into Ms. Boleyn.… (mer)