Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen

by Joanna Denny

This powerful new biography presents a portrait of Anne Boleyn different from the unsavory and unflattering accounts of her that have come down through history. Instead, we learn about the real Anne-a woman who was highly literate, accomplished, an intellectual, and a devout defender of her Protestant faith. Anne's tragedy began when her looks and vivacious charm attracted the notice of England's violent and paranoid king whose love for her trapped her in the vicious politics of the Tudor court. This compelling account of Anne Boleyn plunges the reader into the intrigue, romance, and danger of King Henry VIII's court and the turbulent times that would change England forever. It will forever change our perception of this much-maligned queen.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Tudor Period, British Literature, Historical, Royalty

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Joanna Denny (died 2006) was a historian and author specialising in the court of Henry VIII of England. Her books include Katherine Howard: A Tudor Conspiracy and Anne Boleyn. Her books are usually considered to be sympathetic towards these women. She was published by Portrait Books, an imprint of Piatkus. She is a descendant of Sir Anthony Denny, Henry VIII's trusted servant. She died in 2006, shortly before the publication of her book on Anne Boleyn.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a readable book, and a quick read at that. If you are looking for a good biography of Anne Boleyn, however, this isn' t it. The first thing that any reader should know is that Denny has a very anti-Catholic bias. Every Catholic in this book is evil. Every non-Catholic is a wonderful person.

It's not so much Denny's bias that is disturbing (look at the Church at that time), it's her opinions that she passes off as facts. Denny will state that "Anne was appalled" or "thought" something, but how does Denny know? Such statements are not footnoted, so they are conclusions that Denny is reaching. They might be logical conclusions, but they are Denny's conclusions and not Anne's.

While Denny does defend Anne, she does so at the expense of every other woman in Tudor England, with the exception of Elizabeth I. All other women were either liars, tramps, idiots, schemers, or impious (or all of these combined). Anne was the only good woman in Tudor England. Denny implies that Mary Boleyn gave Henry VIII syphilis; she implies that Mary Tudor's (Henry VIII's sister) dislike of Anne came from Anne's disapproval of Mary Tudor's behavior in France. Worst of all, Denny states that stories about Anne poisoning people should be disregarded, but then just two pages later, relates a story about Catherine de Medici poisoning Jeanne d'Albert that the reader is suppose to take as fact.

Additionally, at times Denny changes her position. For instance, Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII only have one living child, and that is Catherine's fault, according to Denny. When Henry and Anne, however, have trouble producing children, it's Henry's fault because he might have syphilis (which might have been given to him by Mary Boleyn, so I guess it is really her fault). When Anne acts against tradition, she is being independent and standing for her rights; when another woman does so, the woman is being a shrew. When the common people support a Catholic, they are being misled; when the common people support Anne, they know what they are doing.

What is even worse is that it is hard to form a picture of Anne Boleyn from this book. Denny looks at Anne in terms of religion and how Anne should be seen as a martyr for reform (a Protestant martyr), and compares Anne to Queen Esther from the Bible. This is an interesting idea (and the reason why I gave the book two stars and not one); however, for most of the book Anne seems absent. There is no clear picture of Anne that emerges from this biography. In fact, Anne seems to be cipher, a caricature at best, a shadow at worst, of what Denny wishes Anne to be; instead of who Anne herself was.

[zed · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Introduction had me wondering the direction that the author would take when on the first page was written “There are accepted few facts about Anne's life. Virtually everything is still in dispute, from her date of birth to her appearance.” The Introduction ends with the line “It is time for a fresh look at the facts” A fresh look at the “few accepted facts”? This reader had his concerns. They were heightened when discussion took place in the first chapter as to Anne’s appearance via known writings and portraiture. I agree with the author that Henry VIII was not going to marry a lady with an extra finger and a goitre, and that those that reported this were propagandists for their cause. But Joanna Denny writes that no contemporary portraiture survived but then says that the National Gallery portrait, said to be a copy of a lost original “…is no doubt the most authentic…” based on “… certain similarities with portraits of her daughter”. My italics.

Research by the author is seemingly good initially, but with further reading, not all statements had end notes. For example, when discussing the witch hunts in Europe we are quoted figures of 160,000 to 250,000 without end note referral. It is easy to check this out via internet search. Via Mathew White via his Necrometrics site, sadly no longer updated, he states the following……

• Witch Hunts (1400-1800)
• Wertham: 20,000
• Jenny Gibbons "Recent Developments in the Study of The Great European Witch Hunt", Pomegranate, no.5, Lammas 1998 [http://www.interchg.ubc.ca/fmuntean/P...] cites:
o Levack: 60,000
o Hutton: 40,000
o Barstow: 100,000, "but her reasoning was flawed" (i.e. too high.)
• Davies, Norman, Europe A History: 50,000
• Rummel: 100,000
• Bethancourt: The Killings of Witches, lists 628 named and 268,331 unnamed witches killed as of Dec. 2000, and estimates that between 20,000 and 500,000 people were killed as witches. [http://www.illusions.com/burning/burn...?]
• M. D. Aletheia, The Rationalist's Manual (1897): 9,000,000 burned for witchcraft.
• 5 Jan. 1999 Deutsche Presse-Agentur: review of Wolfgang Behringer's Hexen: Glaube - Verfolgung - Vermarktung:
o estimates cited favorably
 Thomas Brady: 40-50,000
 Merry Wiesner: 50-100,000
 Behringer, at lowest: 30,000
o estimates cited unfavorably
 Gottfried Christian Voigt (1740-1791) extrapolated from his section of Germany to calculate 9,442,994 witches killed throughout Europe. From this came the common estimate of 9M.
 Mathilde Ludendorff (1877-1966): 9M
 Friederike Mueller-Reimerdes (1935): 9-10M
 Erika Wisselinck: 6-13 Million
• MEDIAN: Of the 15 estimate listed here, the median is 100,000. If we limit it to just the ten estimates that are cited favorably, the median falls between 50,000 and 60,000.
__________________________

Historians have an obligation to their reader to explain their research, and certainly to end note. “This realm of England is an Empire” the author states Henry VIII saying at one point but with no end note. This happens so often; there are just too many references lacking sources.
__________________________

This read is astonishingly flawed propaganda on behalf of Anne Boleyn and some of her family, just via the poor referencing of sources alone. When sources are used, they are done to support the author in writing hagiography that is really just an advocacy of an historical position, a position of Anne Boleyn and her family as being on the correct path to some kind of future enlightenment of the Anglican England. Several times throughout the narrative the author quotes Protestant interpretation of the biblical passages from Exodus through to Revelations to support the Boleyn faction’s beliefs that the Roman Catholic Church was the anti-Christ and is written in such a way as to make this at times proselytising as opposed to a narrative history.

This reader has an acceptance that historians are sometimes unable to keep their own interpretations of events out of the narrative. Be that as it may, to be credible, they should not be supportive of one side of history over the other based on their own religious beliefs and certainly not on events half a millennia ago when to quote the author's own words there are “…accepted few facts…”.

The author quoted Anthony Denny (16 January 1501 – 10 September 1549) on pages 14 and 89 and after writing on page 180 that Anne Boleyn favoured Cambridge University men such as “…Cranmer, Dr Butts and Anthony Denny…” I researched if the author Joanna Denny could be a descendant. Wiki and other links say yes, though sources are rather tenuous. Anthony Denny was one of Henry VIII closest confidants being Groom of the Stool and was an influence in the English Reformation. Joanna Denny, 500 years later, may have been too close to the subject due to possible family ancestry to be objective.

This is a staggeringly poor history book.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm always up for a new Anne Boleyn biography. Anne has been a huge part of my life since I was about eleven. She inspired me to research women's history; she began my pathway towards feminism; and she's inspired a tattoo that I'm soon getting. Also, I'd heard that Joanna Denny was talking shit about Philippa Gregory. And, well--talking shit about PG is always welcome where I come from. Little did I know...

The Good

Um, well. She's certainly passionate, isn't she? Nobody can deny that Denny LIKES her subject a good bit. Perhaps too much so. And she gets the basic chain of events right. But then again, so does wikipedia.

The Bad

Right of the bat, Denny has this terrible tendency to make assumptions and jump to conclusions. Now, I' not saying that coming to logical conclusions is not allowed at all in biographical writing. It's virtually unavoidable from time to time.

Yet Denny says, time and time again, "Anne thought", "Henry thought", etc. How is she to know what anyone thought? Was she there? No. She doesn't even provide good evidence as to why her subjects may have thought what. Denny is projecting her own desires--desires for a good story to her liking--onto people she didn't know and never will.

The problem is that this sort of tendency can veer into outright fiction if the biographer isn't careful. And Denny isn't careful. Sometimes the Anne Boleyn she described seemed like a totally different person (more on that later) than the woman detailed by authorities like Eric Ives. To be sure, Anne Boleyn was far from any sort of monster. Yet Denny goes so far to rehabilitate her image that she forgets that Anne was human. She was jealous; she could be petty; she had a tendency towards finery and manipulation. All of this has been evidenced by many, many accounts by many people. Of course she was also an extremely clever player, a loving mother, and ultimately a good woman. But she was not without fault.

Anyway. Denny goes on to make all these ridiculous assumptions without defending how she comes to them. She states them as facts vs. hypotheses. One glaring example of this is her assertion of Anne's virginity before "giving in" to Henry at Calais. Um, even those who believe Anne was a virgin before meeting Henry tend to remind the reader that this is, after all, still a theory vs. fact. Unless you're a time-traveling gynecologist, I doubt your ability to attest to Anne Boleyn's virginity.

The Ugly

Look, I love Anne Boleyn. Probably more than your average person. But it is unacceptable to not only glorify her but drag everyone else through the mud to further your anti-Catholic agenda. (I'm a Protestant, by the way. Not biased, here--unlike Denny.)

Denny immediately rubbed me the wrong way with blanket statements about how all Catholics were misogynists who forced their women to be meek and quiet. Because sixteenth century Protestants weren't misogynists, right? I must have been wrong about John Calvin stoning a woman to death for having premarital sex. Never mind that nations like Italy possessed plenty of learned, remarkable, CATHOLIC women like Caterina Sforza, Lucrezia Borgia, and Isabella d'Este.

She also proceeds to make all of these odd statements about how the house of Tudor didn't deserve the throne--ignoring the fact that, if we're going to consider every house that took the throne by force invalid, that would render... almost every house invalid. In a certain way of thinking. (Which is what Denny is all about.) At the same time, she attributes Henry VIII's mental problems to inheritance from Henry VI, even though paragraphs ago she stated that they were barely related. And hey, she also blames the deaths of the Princes in the Tower on Henry VII, totally ignoring any arguments towards Richard III's guilt.

IN AN ANNE BOLEYN BIOGRAPHY.

Catherine of Aragon is denounced as a selfish, stubborn hag. Henry VIII--while no peach, in my opinion--is an evil stalker who forces Anne to be with him. Anne's just a simple, Godly woman with no motives but the elevation of her faith. Not only do these gross misinterpretations perpetuate untruths--they also declaw Anne Boleyn to the worst degree. That, perhaps, is the worst of it all.

The Verdict

Boo, hiss, you know the drill.

[Justine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a bit shocked that this book has such a high rating on Goodreads. It's one of the worst biographies I've ever read. I have always admired Anne Boleyn as a historical figure, but even I can admit that this book is terribly biased in favor of Anne. It has a clear pro-Protestant, anti-Catholic agenda which Denny promotes throughout, which ultimately results in her worshipping Anne and criticizing Katherine of Aragon at every chance. I wouldn't be surprised if Denny had had a shrine in her house set up for Anne.

In addition, the book offers up no new theories on Anne's life - rather, it serves as a space for Denny to share her opinions on the saint that was Anne and the devil that was Katherine of Aragon and the rest of the Catholic faction. The book is not worth a second glance.

[Meaghan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not think much of Joanna Denny's conclusions here; she should stick to writing fiction, for clearly she cannot do history right. Her broad, sweeping statements were unprofessional, and her judgmental characterizations and utter lack of sympathy for people such as Catherine of Aragon were very off-putting. There are loads better Anne Boleyn analyses out there; give this one a miss.

[Brigid · Rating 2 out of 5]

From reading this biography, I know almost as much about Anne Boleyn as I do about author Joanna Denny's hatred of Catholicism. Denny does raise some interesting discussion points about the source of Catherine of Aragon's fertility problems and the origin of Henry VIII's desire to annul his marriage to his first wife. However, what sticks in my mind is her vitriolic, venomous portrayal of everyone who was not a Boleyn supporter. I was especially disturbed and unconvinced by her version of Catherine. Anne and her faction are saintly, while everyone else is cold, callous and calculating. Denny routinely uses words such as "stubborn" and "arrogant" to describe her actions. However, when Anne acts selfishly, the author applauds her strength and courage. The comparison of the two women feels like a second wife maligning her predecessor in order to feel vindicated in her position. Of course, it is Denny's voice, not Anne's, that we hear, rendering this (accidental) device bizarre and completely unhelpful. The biography is informative in plenty of ways, but all the facts and convincing analysis can also be found in the far superior (and far, far less biased) book by Eric Ives.

[Susan]

I bought this one against my better judgment since it was cheap at our closing Borders. Even-handedness doesn't appear to be this author's strong point.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intelligent, articulate women are viewed as a threat in patriarchal cultures. Add organized religion to the mix and the physical well-being of female members of that culture are very much at risk.

Joanna Denny exposes the dark underbelly of the Catholic church in this book about Anne Boleyn--the second wife of King Henry VIII in England during the 16th century. Catholicism held sway over the civilized world for over a thousand years. When Martin Luther attempted to reveal the "sins" of this religion, the resulting strife threatened the power of the Vatican. And it wasn't going to relinquish control easily.

Into this violent mix comes Anne Boleyn. An educated English woman from an up and coming family, she is appalled by the debauched behaviors of royal courts. While in France, she has been exposed to parts of the Bible translated into English, along with new ideas pushed by those seeking reform of the Catholic faith.

As a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of England, she comes to the attention of King Henry (who is seeking his next female conquest). Anne spurns his advances and will not capitulate unless she is married. So the King's "Great Matter" drags on for years as he tries to prove that his marriage to his current wife (Queen Catherine) is invalid because she was married first to his deceased brother. In order to marry again, he must receive a dispensation from the Pope in Rome. But the Pope fears the conquering army of Queen Catherine's nephew--Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.

Anne and the Boleyn family are supporters of the new Protestant reform movement. King Henry was named the "Defender of the (Catholic) Faith" by the Pope himself. A religious clash looms and people will lose both their reputations and even their lives in the turmoil.

The author tries to prove that Anne Boleyn's blackened reputation was an act of revenge by the Catholic church for introducing and promoting the new Protestant faith. She was labeled a whore and a witch when she was nothing of the kind. She dared to criticize a religion ruled by men at a time when women were instructed to submit to both their church and their husband. They were considered to be brainless, immoral creatures who caused the downfall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. And they were not expected (or even allowed) to form or vocalize an opinion of their own. Anne Boleyn did both and was destroyed in the end by the men in power. But her daughter, Elizabeth, would eventually restore the Protestant faith to England and go on to become a strong and fiercely independent Queen in her own right.

Joanna Denny shows a definite bias against Catholicism in this book, but I also believe she's attempting to right a wrong that history has allowed to continue against Anne Boleyn. By scraping away the hype she has attempted to show us a new side to this tragic figure.

[Maureen · Rating 1 out of 5]

My main reason for reviewing this book is to warn anyone who is planning to use it for a classroom assignment. Be careful -- this book is full of factual errors. For example, right after page 246 the portrait of Mary is misdated -- the portrait itself clearly identifies both the sitter and her age at the time the portrait was painted! Instead use the Ives bio. of Anne Boleyn. I attempted to check some other citations and was not able to do so. Ives offers better scholarship, his writing is clear and his citations are reliable.

However, if you have the time and enjoy polemic, this book offers a blast of 18th century anti-catholic bias. If you like that sort of thing, this is your book.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed by this biography. The language is emotive at best, inflammatory for much of the rest. There is no criticism of Anne, none whatsoever. She was a virgin (the only one at Court) who only eventually succumbed to Henry's advances to promote her evangelical faith. Once Queen, she donated a fortune to charity and was a devoted mother to her daughter. Brilliantly intelligent Anne, even by today's standards, managed to do everything, do it well, despite the conspiracies against her from all sides. By contrast, the author demonstrates no sympathy or empathy for Catherine of Aragon, Mary or Jane Seymour, and is cutting in her physical and intellectual assessment of them. The author also has a somewhat strong opinion on the Catholic Church.

To be fair, my knowledge of history is pretty scant. I have no idea what the accepted consensus is as regards Anne Boleyn. I don't know how much room there is for interpretation. But what I do know is that to be considered a good biography, there must be balance. And there is none in this book. In the introduction, the author highlights a quote "study the historian before you study the facts". Good advice which applies to biographers too.

[Redfox5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliantly written history book paints an entirely different picture from the idea of Anne we have from films, tv, shows, books and even what we would have been told in out school history lessons. Joanna really know her stuff. She pulls apart many "facts" told about Anne. A good example of this is about her sixth finger. I was taught about her sixth finger in History and it's also written about in the 'Horrible history' books. But as Joanna points out, there is no way Anne would have been at court if she had been deformed.

As much as I love reading about the firey seductive Anne in historical fiction, I also enjoyed knowing more about the real person. Anne was really very religious, she did lots of charitable works and even helped set up the first Grammer school. All the good things she has done have been totally white washed by history. This book is also written in a way that keeps you interested. Some history books can be quiet boring but not this one!

I would recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in The Tudors because chances are everything you thought you knew about Anne Boleyn is wrong!

[Sarah Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are one of those people who loves reading about the Tudors then I would recommend reading this. I have read a lot of reviews from people who felt that this was an "anti-Catholic" propaganda book, but I honestly didn't feel that way at all...That is just my personal view of this book. I enjoyed its fresh perspective on the life of Anne Boleyn. I was very surprised at the amount of 'unknown' history that is in this book. I had always grown up with the idea that Anne Boleyn was "the great whore", but after reading this I now have a completely different view, a tragic Queen who ended up being a scapegoat for her enemies and the King. With the amount of power she wielded, its no wonder why people felt threatened by her and wanted her gone. In this book, you learn about the good things she did that normally would have never have known about her, due to the fact that so many wanted to blacken her name after her death.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be an easy and enjoyable read. For a historical biography it was markedly conversational and carries along at a relaxed pace. However, when it comes to historical accuracy I have my doubts. Denny carries an obvious anti-Catholic bias and almost refuses to hear any negativity towards Anne

Denny paints a sympathetic picture of Anne, as a highly intelligent and educated woman, and completely discounts theories defiling her character. Her views of Anne, paint a portrait of a bright young woman caught up in the times and affection of her king, not as a whore or even a pawn in her father’s game of advancement. Her views on King Henry VIII however, are particularly more disparaging.

While this is an enjoyable and easy historical read, I can't recommend it for serious historical or biography readers looking for unbiased read.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is classified as a biography but actually reads more like historical fiction. My middle-school daughter made the mistake of trying to use this book as a primary reference for a term paper this year. The structure of the biography, the sparsity of reference dates, and Denny's penchant for stating a "fact" about Anne Boleyn then recanting it several pages later, made it a miserable reference book. So much so, that I had to step in and read the book too in order to help her sort it all out. However, Denny's historical fiction background does show through on every single page and that at least makes the book an entertaining read.

[Lyndsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only made it half way through this book before giving up on it and I am shocked that I read as far as I did. The bias in this book makes me think Ms. Denny would have been very good in the field of propaganda,but not so good in the area of fact.

[Hayl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very biased towards Anne, and against anyone who isn't Anne, i.e. Katherine of Aragon, anyone remotely Catholic... couldn't finish. Would not recommend if you want an unbiased, clear biography of a very interesting lady from history.

[Lauren McGraw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read the Eric Ives so I didn’t learn anything new but it was nice to read a book about Anne! The author did weirdly leave out the fact that Thomas More was executed but I hate him so whatever.
I thought about it a little more:
I will say it is definitely more accessible than the Ives, which while I adore it, the Ives can definitely be hard to read if you aren’t obsessed. This would honestly be a (biased and weirdly elitists against all the other women and their lack of proper education) decent starting point for Anne.

[C.S. Burrough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this by the rumble of differing user reviews it generated. I was intrigued as to what had elicited such a polarised response. What I found was a well written, if sympathetically biased, take on this infamous consort.

Few would read only one biography of such a queen and consider it gospel. History was so changed over this one marriage that readers must strike their own balance of knowledge, expect to encounter differing biographical positions and respect the entire consensus spectrum. We must then make up our own minds given all the available facts.

I concur that Katherine of Aragon is done an injustice and that the author sounds anti-Catholic in certain passages. That is her prerogative. This is not journalism, which demands greater impartiality. All history is recounted with some subjectivity. Consider the vehement anti-Anne Boleyn bias that dominated such material for centuries with her apologists out on the fringes. It is no crime for contemporaries to seek rebalance to such entrenched propaganda.

I allowed that it may not be so much Denny's pro-Protestant stance per se that is so glaring, but the sensitivity of her pro-Catholic detractors in their reviews? With neither Catholic nor Protestant leanings, I remained fairly indifferent to all this, an observer rather than a participant in the debacle, as I read Denny's fine work.

It is well documented that, despite her partly self-serving zeal for religious reform, Boleyn died as devout as Henry did in their old, if preliminarily Anglicanised, faith. Henry balked at taking the Reformation all the way, leaving his son to oversee this. Even Henry and Anne's daughter, Elizabeth I, who so famously saw in the first shining light of the new faith in her Golden Age, took a more compromising, halfway position on Church of England ways than future monarchs would. So much so that the notoriously indecisive Gloriana was criticised for being neither one thing nor another. Neither Anne Boleyn nor Henry VIII called themselves 'Protestant' in their lifetimes.

I've perhaps elaborated disproportionately here on that debate, but that was the catalyst for my reading of this book which, religiosity and pro versus anti Katherine of Aragon aside, I found highly readable.

I would not rate this in the same important reference category as, say Eric Ives, whose masterpiece on Anne suffers such bookish dryness, despite its academic brilliance, that it perhaps falls outside the parameters of leisure study. I maybe even prefer Antonia Fraser's or Alison Weir's sumptuous stylistics (the latter published specifically on this queen, while both wrote books on Henry's six wives). I do feel, nonetheless, that Denny has earned her place with this book, in this seemingly infinite reading line. I have read far worse Anne Boleyn coverage than this. The quality is indisputably high.

For those seeking diversity of views on a contentious historical figure, I consider this to be as important and valid a take as any other quality biography. Every angle is worth exploring and this one, in my opinion, is expressed stylishly and eruditely.

I enjoyed this passionate, courageously one-sided account of a woman we'll possibly never know certain vital adjudicating factors on. There were many fine Anne Boleyn biographies before this and will be others to follow, some not so good. This one definitely belongs on my 'good' shelf.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imagine a competent writer being commissioned to write a series of biographies about historical figures for a private evangelical Protestant school system. The expectation is that the main facts presented in the story would be accurate, but the primary goal of the biographies would be to promote evangelical Protestantism, and to depict Roman Catholicism in as unpleasant a light as possible.

The scenario described above is just a figment of my imagination, of course. Still, if such an assignment were given to any biographer of Anne Boleyn, I would expect the results to be similar to this book.

Anne Boleyn, a fascinating subject for biographies, is reduced here to a two-dimensional paragon of beauty and saintly virtue, whereas her royal rival, Catherine of Aragon, is depicted as physically unattractive, vindictive, and unpopular with the people. Every Catholic individual in the book, from Catherine to Thomas More, is depicted as cruel and corrupt. In many cases, the author makes claims or refutes conventional wisdom without citing a source, which makes the reader wonder if she is tweaking the facts to fit her own narrative.

This makes for rough and rather annoying reading. Though I've read many Tudor biographies, some of them quite dry, I had to abandon this book halfway through. Although this author is competent enough as a writer, her motive behind the writing is so blatant that it reads like propaganda rather than a biography of one of history's most interesting and complex queens.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is actually very hard to get a 'true' and factually correct account of any historical figure from this time because of the bias employed by whoever was writing it at the time, and who was on the throne at the time, which affects which religious faction is in charge at the time of writing.

I don't really know how accurate this or any other book is when it comes to facts so I can only go by whether or not I enjoyed reading it, and I did enjoy this one. I just love to read about figures from Tudor times-fiction or non fiction and I found a few of the theories interesting though I take nothing as fact.

I've always wondered if the dead and sick children came from the Tudor line, and not Henry's wives. Catherine of Aragon's mother and sister bore many healthy children. Was Henry passing syphilis to her? If he suffered bouts of it from his affairs, it could explain the healthy children of Bessie Blount and Mary Boleyn and the issues faces Henry's wives. Who knows? The author points the finger at Mary Boleyn, which I don't believe because she successfully bears healthy children and I'm not convinced she was the Great Whore she was said to be. Still, all of this is just guessing on my part!

I do think there was an obvious anti-Catholic bias in the book, while portaying Anne in a very favourable light. Obviously the author is a fan of Anne but I would have liked a bit more balance in the book.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I read this book, it was very difficult to refrain from comparing it to Warnicke's biography of Anne Boleyn, which is still very fresh in my memory. Joanna Denny's biography is less scholarly, and poorly edited. In her favor, though, Denny has written a popular history that is easy to comprehend and doesn't require as much prior knowledge of Tudor politics as Warnicke's. Some scholars disdain popular history, but I firmly support any book that makes history accessible to the widest audience possible.

Whereas Warnicke was immensely sympathetic to Henry's discarded queen, Catherine of Aragon, Denny is clearly Anne Boleyn's champion and has few kind words to say about Catherine. Anne is portrayed as a chaste and righteous religious reformer, guided by God to rule England in the name of fledgling Protestantism. Denny's Anne is not the shrewd manipulator driven by desire for power and family advancement, which has been the traditional view of Anne.

Denny's biography is entertaining but you won't find much that's new here. Warnicke's study was significantly drier but contained convincingly argued novel ideas. Bottom line: I'm hoping there are better Anne biographies out there that combine Denny's readability with Warnicke's intelligence and novelty.

[Michael Borowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

At last, a truly sympathetic look at the much-maligned Anne Boleyn -- one of the most fascinating figures in the history of English royalty. The book consistently and thoughtfully debunks the many myths surrounding England's beheaded queen, making this a fascinating read. So far, the only problem is that author Denny can be naive in her supposition, or jumps to conclusions that might sound accurate, but are something of a leap. (She seems very eager to prove her point without necessarily having evidence.) Regardless, I'm riveted and enjoying every page. I'll be sorry when I finish the last page.

This is also a fun read for anyone interested in political cover-ups and media spin...Anne's enemies did an amazing job, not unlike their modern counterparts in this country.

For the record, I'm somewhat obsessed with the Showtime series THE TUDORS, even though it is beyond trashy, though certainly fun and addictive! (Think of it as a Melrose Place for the Tudors.) While I applaud the series' revisionist approach to Anne there as well, the entire series is still wildly inaccurate in many if not most of its depictions of history. But all in the name of a fun romp! :)

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably enjoyed this biography for the same reason many others did not: Denny's very obvious anti-Catholic bias and almost saintlike portrayal of Anne Boleyn. Most authors (at least until the past decade or two) either tend to pity or revile Anne, so it was interesting to have someone argue that she was a strong political player whose Protestant beliefs did actually give her a moral edge. While Denny's evidence of this tends to be based more on speculation, the fact is that most of what we know about Anne is speculation, so I saw this book more as a different view of Anne Boleyn than a definitive document of her life. Indeed, Anne Boleyn can be at her most interesting when an author goes out on a limb. For something wanting a light, accessible biography of Anne, Denny's book is just fine. Anyone wanting to explore the nuances of the scanty historical documentation and artifacts of Anne's life -- which Denny does glide over and even sometimes make bias assumptions about -- should rely on David Starkey or Eric Ives for that.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for Tudor or Anne Boleyn fans, and as a massive Anne Boleyn fan myself, I only wish I had read this book sooner. Joanna Denny records Anne Boleyn's life, from childhood in the courts of Burgundy and France, to her death at the Tower. What was unique about this biography was the portrayal of Anne as an active evangelical and supporter of the Protestant faith. Denny clearly differentiates between reliable sources of information regarding Anne, and propaganda generated by her Catholic enemies, that the image of a hot-headed seductress can be easily discounted. The only fact I disagreed with in reading this was the assumption that Mary Boleyn's children were fathered by Henry, as there would not have been much reason for him to refuse acknowledging proof of his virility (especially prior to his interest in Anne). The book read quite easily in comparison to other history books and was not terribly dense. Overall, this book was an amazing read and I cannot recommend it enough.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Heather Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good biography on the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. Other books have given too much notice of the letters of ambassador Chapuys, one of her worst enemies who never even met her. This book explores Anne as an evangelical who as queen encouraged English national spirit and was very generous with charitable donations to Cambridge, Oxford, and the poor. She is not portrayed as the femme fatale of legend. The King pursued her, not the other way around. She was indeed a devoted mother to Elizabeth in the short time they had together, even though she was hoping for a son. Her fall came about at the hands of the King and his advisor Cromwell, who were desperate to be rid of her.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

**first let me say for any of you watching The Tudors on Showtime, it's grossly inaccurate to the point that I can't watch it without gettting upset.....

This is another book that I bought a couple of years ago but haven't picked up.... it was great!! A wonderful view on Anne Boleyn's life- clearing up a lot of misconceptions. Plus there was some new information in there about Jane Seymour that I didn't know, which is great because at this point in my life with all the Tudor/Anne Boleyn books I've read I didn't think there was anything new for me to find out on the subject.

[Heather Seale · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all let me say that I love reading anything about Tudor England and I thought I could gain a new perspective on Anne Boleyn by reading this book. Wrong!! Joanna Denny tries to portray Anne as a Saint who was wronged and who tried to do nothing but good for England. I think anyone who really knows Tudor England would tell you that she's anything but a Saint. So all-in-all I guess I did gain a new perspective on Anne Boleyn and I'd have to say she seems lower to me now than before.

[Bilingual Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book Denny sets out to "correct" the negative impression history has left on Anne Boleyn, but unfortunatly she goes to the opposite extreme painting Boleyn as a passive victim to Henry VIII and history.

Read more at
http://www.bilinguallibrarian.com/200...

[Lauralee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anne Boleyn is the most controversial of King Henry VIII’s wives. She has often been portrayed as a scheming, lustful, and merciless queen. In this biography of Anne Boleyn, Ms. Denny attempts to reinterpret her story. Ms. Denny claims that Anne Boleyn did not deserve her negative reputation. Instead, she was a pious woman who was devoted to the Protestant cause.

I did not like Ms. Denny’s interpretation of Anne Boleyn. In this biography, Anne Boleyn is described as saintly. She is portrayed as having no faults. She is also depicted as a martyr who died for the Protestant cause. While Anne Boleyn’s death is tragic, she was definitely not saintly. Anne Boleyn also had her faults. I thought that the author was very biased and was in too much awe of Anne Boleyn. Her bias on her subject caused me not to be convinced of her biography. It was hard for me to take this book seriously.

I did find it convincing that King Henry VIII used a political coup to help eliminate Anne Boleyn because he was tired of her meddling in politics and had failed in producing a son. This is because he hired an executioner from France to behead Anne Boleyn before her trial. I did not find it convincing that she was a Protestant martyr and that she died a Protestant. Ms.Denny tended to ignore evidence overlooked by many historians such as Ives, Bernard, and Weir that she died a Catholic. This is because she asked Mr. Kingston if her good deeds will get her into heaven and that she took the last sacrament. Ms. Denny tended to overlook this to make Anne Boleyn a martyr of the protestant faith. Therefore, I have to agree with other historians that while Anne Boleyn definitely had Protestant leanings, she still had a few Catholic beliefs during her last hours and died a Catholic.

Overall,this was a very biased biography that often distorted the truth in order to further her agenda. Ms. Denny often speculated throughout the book without any evidence. For instance, the reason why King Henry VIII’s sister hated Anne Boleyn is because Anne disapproved of her second marriage. There is no recorded evidence of Anne's reaction to the king’s sister’s second marriage. Thus, this speculation is unfounded. It would have been better if this was a historical fiction novel rather than a biography. I also didn’t like how the historian was very biased against those who opposed Anne Boleyn, especially Catherine of Aragon. Ms. Denny calls Catherine of Aragon a hypocrite without any evidence. Thus, she puts her view into her work rather than being neutral. It weakens her arguments. If you love to read everything about Anne Boleyn, you might want to read this book. However, I encourage you to skip it because this book is based more on the author’s speculations that are not backed up by facts. Instead, you will find more facts about Anne Boleyn in a historical fiction novel. The biographies of Anne Boleyn that I recommend are The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives, Mistress Anne by Carolly Erickson, and The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir!