Notorious: Anne Boleyn and the Great Tudor Hoax

by Hayley Nolan

How did a young housemaid manage to catapult herself into the centre of Henry VIII's divorce, going head-to-head with Anne Boleyn? And why was the sordid truth behind her story erased? Historian Hayley Nolan uncovers the secrets of the most astounding tale in Tudor history.

She destroyed Anne Boleyn,
conned Henry VIII,
and changed the course of history forever.

Meet the fearless young woman who is the missing piece in one of history's most infamous tales.

Elizabeth Barton's remarkable rise from poverty to celebrity stunned the Tudor court. As the most notorious influencer of her day, she was adored by the public and had the most formidable Tudor power players under her spell - until she was silenced.

But was the girl a deluded fantasist, a cold-hearted con artist, or was she the victim of her corrupt celebrity managers?

Anne Boleyn certainly thought so, which is why she tried to save the girl who had set out to ruin her.

Hayley Nolan breathes life into a story that has been relegated to the footnotes of the dramatic rise and fall of Elizabeth Barton. Her thrilling story is one of prophecy, fame, manipulation and deceit – and shows what's at stake when everything comes crashing down within the confines of the ruthless court of Henry VIII.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2026

Reviews

[Susannah]

I wish that I could start this review by listing the positives of this book before the negatives, however I can’t because there aren’t any. I had many issues with Nolan’s first book so my expectations were not high, but this book is even worse which I did not think possible. There are so many issues here, which I have listed below (this is the short version as my original response to this was over 3,000 words) and I think these are mainly caused by trying to learn how to write history from the top down, therefore lacking breadth and depth of knowledge of the period and how to interrogate sources and reach balanced conclusions and a basic lack of respect for the people Nolan is writing about. This will come across as harsh, however I feel strongly about this and think it is important otherwise people might read this and think it is an accurate representation of the past and that this is the way history should be written.

Main Issues

Use of Sources - the primary sources used are all ones that wanted to discredit Barton, it is not possible to read the original books written by her supporters as Nolan claims to have done in the introduction as these were destroyed. The closest we can get is ‘quotes’ in a sermon preached against her, the Act of Attainder and a ‘perambulation’ or history of Kent written in 1570 by William Lambarde (not Edward Thwaites as is incorrectly stated in this book) which appears to have used a copy of an early pamphlet about Barton that Lambarde claims was written by Edward Thwaites. Even L. E. Whatmore who transcribed the sermon in 1943 pointed to the ‘invective, threats, half-truth, calumny and vulgarity’ to highlight that these sources should not be trusted, they are propaganda to justify execution for treason without trial. Nolan does not tell the reader this and these sources are not properly investigated, just taken at face value. The fact that they are ‘official’ does not make them true, also Cranmer writing something in a letter does not make it true. So many excellent secondary sources on Barton were not used (Diane Watt, Naomi Baker, Nancy Bradley Warren) so there is no discussion of historiography and the various debates surrounding Barton (of which the question of if she was a fraud is the least interesting) such as how influential she was, why was she considered such a threat, her similarity to other ‘holy maids’. It would even have been more interesting to compare the downfall of Barton and Boleyn as they were both engineered by Cromwell and used very similar tactics. Instead we get a salacious story about Barton, nothing about this is ‘accurate, balanced and fair’, it is the opposite. It does not make sense to point out how Boleyn was the victim of a smear campaign, but to take the smear campaign against Barton at face value, these are two sides of the same coin.

Lack of knowledge and understanding - little understanding of religion and society of the time is shown or what people’s lives were like beyond reductive statements about disease and hunger etc. Some thoughts are put in people’s heads, but these are bizarre things about being envious (this is why Barton had it in for Boleyn, apparently) and wanting to be famous and many things are invented to justify the events made up by Cromwell e.g. Barton’s ‘relationship’ with Bocking (Whatmore states that despite searching, there is no evidence of Barton’s sexual impropriety). Religious terms are not used correctly, distinctions are made between Protestants and Catholics which is impossible at this time, with the Catholic Church being called ‘puritanical’ at one point which is all kinds of wrong. The result of this is showing disrespect for the subjects of this book, just passing on dubious information. Historians should show basic respect for their subjects, even if you don’t agree with the things they did or believed. Barton and her supporters were prepared to die not to get famous, but because they had strong beliefs, values and convictions. Also, we don’t know the timeline of many of Barton’s prophecies, which Nolan knows because she buried this information in a footnote, but this does not prevent her from making up a timeline to ‘prove’ her theories. Many things are presented as fact which are debated e.g. how much influence Barton had, Nolan claims even the Pope and Papal Legate were influenced, but this is contradicted by other evidence given to Cromwell. The attainder and sermon need to present her as dangerous because they are going to execute her and need reasons for this, again, this does not make it true.

Outlandish Theories - this book is full of unsubstantiated theories which have come from either twisting evidence, leaving out important parts or context of sources, cherry picking quotes from sources, failures of logic and reasoning or over analysing. I will mention three here. This is not an issue of difference of opinions, all historians have to formulate opinions and I don’t always agree (even with Eric Ives), but it has to be a sound argument, based on real, reliable evidence that has been properly evaluated, this does not happen here. I think these theories are presented as a desperate attempt to say something different for the sake of it because this topic has been done to death, there is nothing original to say.

Cromwell plotted Boleyn’s downfall due to the poor law and Boleyn trying set up a rival council to the Privy Council - nothing could rival the Privy Council (except possibly the privy chamber) and it was the king’s council not Cromwell’s and if she were trying to do this it would have been treason anyway so this shows flawed reasoning as well as lack of evidence and Cromwell almost certainly drafted or commissioned the drafting of the poor law. There is a whole section of the book stating that if the poor law council was successful at administering the Poor Law they would take on more tasks and merge with the Privy Council with no citations - where is the evidence or precedent? Cromwell was not scared of council reform having instigated most of it himself.

The Defence of Peace, published in English in 1535 was a threat to Cromwell - in fact this was helpful to Cromwell because it was anti-clerical and supported the Supremacy Act that he had drafted and passed in 1534 which is why he paid for it to be translated and published. Nolan claims the book would ‘expose his corrupt dealings’ - dissolving monasteries to use the money (something he fell out with Boleyn over), but in fact the book supports this, saying that church land belongs to the secular ruler, the book argues against simony (selling church offices), which Cromwell was not doing - how could a book which was written in 1324 expose anything about Cromwell personally? Even the letter from Chapuys which mentions this book and Boleyn also mentioned the King’s Council which includes Cromwell and says that Cromwell was showing books to the ‘Scotch ambassador’. Also, it is worth pointing out that it is not the books which Chapuys says will be ‘urged on’ by ‘the Lady and his Council’ it is the ‘administration of their [the church’s] temporal goods’ which Chapuys says will be done ‘as well on account of his [Henry VIII] hatred for churchmen as from covetousness’. Nolan also misrepresents a letter from Jasper Fyloll to Cromwell where he mentions four ‘foreign printed books’ containing errors which the monks at the Charterhouse have which Cromwell then orders to be removed, Nolan suggests that he is secretly happy that the monks rejected The Defence of Peace and does not mention it by name in his subsequent orders so that he could pretend he is not talking about this book. The mental gymnastics needed to come to this ludicrous ‘conclusion’ is staggering. It also involves leaving out parts of the source which clearly describe The Defence of Peace as an English book and the parts where the focus is clearly on reforming the monks and making them accept Henry VIII as head of the church, this is evidence of Cromwell using Defence of the Peace to further the aims of the Supremacy Act, but the source is twisted beyond recognition, the letter does not show any ‘outrage’ that The Defence of Peace was accepted willingly, in fact the issue is that the monks returned the books (which is why Fyloll suggests to Cromwell that this ‘is good matter to lay to them at the time when your pleasure shall be to visit them’.) Even if Nolan’s claims were true they would be illogical since Cromwell has been told that the monks have returned The Defence of Peace so would not have them to take away. It is also nonsense to suggest Cromwell wanted to suppress this book when he put so much effort into getting every man in England to swear the oath of succession, confirming Henry VIII as head of the English church and rejecting papal authority (this is all over the Letters and Papers for 1535 with bishops writing to Cromwell personally to update him on what they are doing to execute the commands of the act - this is all available online), refusal to swear was treason leading to the executions of More and Fisher.

Wolsey’s downfall - Nolan claims to have ended this debate blaming the influence of Barton, except there is no evidence of this due to not knowing timelines (this is important here as Wolsey fell from favour in 1529 and died in 1530 and the first prophecy that Henry would die a villain’s death - which Henry ignored - was made sometime between 1528 and 1530) and other historians have access to these sources and do not consider that they answer these questions, probably for the reasons I stated above and Nolan does not properly consider other arguments e.g. foreign policy or doctrinal issues. Nolan does not even mention Barton in her last book on Anne Boleyn, this is probably because other historians mention her only briefly because in the grand scheme of things Barton’s prophecies are not that important.

Writing - the writing is really bad, there is so much repetition; the word ‘hallowed’ is used far too often and at one point ‘hallowed and holy’! I get Nolan is trying to write this like a novel/thriller/story so like ‘critical fabulation’ where you fill in the gaps in the evidence and try to imagine how someone would have thought or felt. However, to do this properly you need to make it clear to the reader what you have evidence for and what you don’t and what you have used to reconstruct people’s lives/thoughts/feelings - where has this material come from? What is it based on? This book is only based on fanciful stories told about Barton by people who wanted to kill her and the rest is just made up nonsense, it reads like bad historical fiction and I wonder how much was lifted from Nolan’s unpublished novel about Boleyn ‘A most rebellious queen’. The irony is that Nolan has accused others of just repeating lies about Boleyn and here she is doing it to Barton! This is just monologue where it should be dialogue and one person’s (often false) conclusions and does not make for a good reading experience.

[Charlotte reads history]

Clickbait non-fiction and not in a positive way.

I was willing to give Nolan’s book a chance despite knowing of some issues with her previous Anne Boleyn title - as I had heard about Elizabeth Barton ‘The Maid of Kent’ and was excited to learn more.

Unfortunately I knew from fairly early on that this book wasn’t for me. I felt that there didn’t seem to be a good grounding in the period - the introduction explored people’s assumed outlooks on life in Tudor times - that ‘days were relentless and unforgiving’ for everyone regardless of class, and that the ‘indignity of it all mottled like bruises upon the skin’.

We can’t make those generalisations about people - who had no understanding and can make no comparison with the relevant comforts and quality of life we experience today. Life for most people would have just been… normal. People would have had good times and bad times, just like they do now.

So much of the narrative hinged on an apparent rivalry between Elizabeth Barton and Anne Boleyn - there were so many emotions and motivations assumed in the narrative that just didn’t wash. I didn’t feel like I was learning much and couldn’t tell what was based on a (selective) reading of the sources and what was made up.

I’ve got no problem with critical fabulation - when it’s done well, with clear boundaries between the source material and is still informed by relevant research, it’s brilliant. The Lost Voices of Pompeii by Jess Venner is a perfect recent example. Perhaps Nolan’s imagination is better suited to historical fiction.

Thanks to @bloomsburypublishing for an advanced copy for review.

[Karlyn Marcantonio]

Notorious feels like a love letter to Anne Boleyn! Ever since I was a young girl, I have been interested in Tudor history and the narrative around Anne Boleyn has always come off very negative. She is known as a seductress, manipulative and the instigator. The typical depiction of her comes from the narrative painted by those who orchestrated her execution. This depiction isn't a fair one, and Hayley Nolan address that throughout her work. Notorious is not a book without bias, but it doesn't feel entirely unfair. In a world where the narrative is very much against Boleyn, maybe works like this can start to level the playing field. It might not paint the whole picture, but truly not one non-fiction book ever does. Nolan writes in a way that can be accessible to every reader, and not just the academic.

Overall, I'd rate this a 3.5 star read. I really enjoyed the narrative and found it to be an engaging and quick read. The writing style wasn't my favorite, and there were a few moments stylistically that just didn't fully sit right with me.

[Christina]

This subject had so much promise, what a fantastic story it could have been..... unfortunately this particular execution (sorry!😅) was not it. Such a disappointment. I read the authors first book and gave a slightly higher rating but maybe we two just don't mesh, and that's ok!

28/09/2026 Goodreads believes this book is unpublished and I have must have read an arc copy to leave a review. Not true, for clarity, I accessed through audible.

[Liza]

I received this book as an ARC from
NetGalley.

I was drawn to Notorious for a number of reasons—the cover art, the promise of Tudor history, but none so much as a new narrative take on the most infamous Tudor drama.

I enjoyed the way Nolan crafted this narrative almost as if she were standing in Anne's defense, addressing us—the readers—as a jury. It lured me in with a manner I hadn't experienced in a narrative retelling of a historical event before. While I do think Nolan chose only evidence to support her theories and narrative, I think that fit the tone of the book—a lawyer presenting their defense/offense in the best way possible and setting everything else aside.

Still, as with every book, there are pieces that didn't hit for me. In some parts, the writing felt repetitive and overdone, losing me in a sentence and causing me to skim a bit.

[Marie]

I rated this 3.5 out of 5.

I forget what I was doing recently; it must have been listening to a podcast, but I remember thinking that I wish there was something written for popular audiences on Elizabeth Barton, the Maid of Kent. She kept cropping up in things that I was reading, and I wanted to learn more about her. That is when I stumbled upon Nolan's work.

Nolan clearly did a lot of work in the primary source material to extract Elizabeth Barton's story from the archives. After reading this book, I feel that I have a very good sense of who Barton was as a person and what drove her. I also found the way that Nolan framed the book as a biography of Barton intermingled with her impact on the King's Great Matter really interesting narratively speaking. And while I did enjoy Nolan's writing throughout the book, it did feel a bit like a fictional recounting rather than a historical one. For instance, Nolan's descriptions of how Barton (or even Anne Boleyn) felt due to the events that were unfolding came across as a bit of conjecture. While that is perfectly natural to do when examining figures from history, I do feel that there were some periods where objectivity was lost.

I also felt like, in an attempt to highlight Barton's power during this time, due to cultural norms in religious practice, Nolan lost some of the nuance in all of the characters at play. For example, Nolan explores the likely contact of Catherine of Aragon and Elizabeth Barton through the intermediary of the Marchioness of Exeter. To me, it felt that the prophecy that Barton had about Mary becoming Queen was a bit overplayed in describing Catherine's motives during the divorce proceedings. If I understand the time frame correctly, this information came to Catherine after she had already exhibited a strong resolve not to let the divorce move forward. While I do think that religious beliefs and Barton's appearance to be in communication with the divine may have reinforced people's actions, I do not think that they produced them.

The discussion of Anne Boleyn and her family was also a bit odd at times. While I greatly appreciate that Thomas Boleyn was not portrayed as a schemer trying to get his daughters into the King's bed, there were times in the narrative where it felt like Nolan was insinuating that he was throwing a tantrum about how things were going. Obviously, no one was quite happy with the turn of events, such that Henry wanted to marry Anne. Given the evidence that she returned to Hever in the hopes his advances would pass, it's clear that Anne wasn't keen on the idea, and everyone knew the danger that they were in if it didn't work out. While I think Nolan did a good job of discussing the nuanced feelings that everyone had in this situation, there were a few times when it felt overplayed.

One area where I wish there had been more exploration was in Nolan's argument that the destruction of Elizabeth Barton helped facilitate the fall of Anne Boleyn. While I could see the dots Nolan was trying to connect, I had a hard time believing that Anne felt a sense of guilt in this situation. This goes back to the earlier idea of writing about emotions that are not entirely clear from the sources.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. While it was incredibly well researched and fabulously written, it made me feel slightly uneasy with the assertions that were being made in the text. I would, however, HIGHLY recommend this book if you are a lover of Tudor history. Although you may not agree with everything in the text, it is both a great exploration of Elizabeth Barton's life and a good exploration of Anne Boleyn's religious beliefs.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

CONTENT WARNINGS
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Violence, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic

[Janine]

This must be the year for Anne Boleyn as several fiction books have published or will be publishing this year (The Beheading Game, Henry Tudor Must Die, and The House of Boleyn - which I’ve reviewed; and then I discovered in my TBR pile, Hunting the Falcon: Henry VIII Anne Boleyn and the Marriage that Shock Europe). So when I saw this book (my thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press) I was more than intrigued as it offered new thoughts and information on this tumultuous event in world history.

I had heard about Elizabeth Barton through a recent fictional novel (The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton) but hadn’t realized how powerful she was in her time. She was known then as The Holy Maid of Kent and then at her downfall as The Mad Maid of Kent. She was akin to a 21st C influencer during the time when Henry was looking for annulment. Her pronunciations against the marriage of Anne and Henry lay in preserving Catholicism against the new believers such as Anne that no longer held with Catholic tenets.

Nolan presents such interesting facts and information to light that I was not aware of - I’ve read a lot about this particular period in British history but I’m no historian so what I’ve learned has stayed pretty much to the basics. In bringing Barton’s predictions to light Nolan shows what the people at that time believed. They still were invested in Catherine as queen and Catholicism and adored Barton believing in her piety - there was no internet around to refute or confirm this. Anne’s image suffered greatly from Barton’s pronouncements which helped delay the marriage Nolan posits.

So who was Elizabeth Barton? A crazy fantasist, a fanatic, a con artist or a victim of celebrity managers? This is not necessarily easy to tell but one thing that comes across strongly in this book is that Henry and his minions wanted her gone. In 1533 she was arrested and under duress confessed she lied. She was hung in 1534 - though interestingly she is venerated in a few Anglican churches today. As Nolan notes Anne did not escape Barton - within two years of Barton’s death she was beheaded more because Nolan posits that Henry didn’t want to deal with another stubborn wife.

Enjoyed this book and its additional take on the Anne -Henry story.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf)]

Tudor England in the late 1520s & King Henry VIII wishes to end his long marriage to Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. The Catholic Church stands in his way although the Pope is beginning to vacillate - until Elizabeth Barton steps forward. Known as the 'The Holy Maid of Kent', Barton was a young servant girl until she became deathly ill & received visions & messages from God.

Now a nun & renowned seer with the ear of influential men including the Pope himself she relates prophecies that warn Henry of disaster if he divorces his wife & marries Anne. Henry & Anne's plans are stymied for seven years by Barton until she overreaches & the entire house of cards comes tumbling down. Was Barton a deluded fantasist, con artist, or a victim of corrupt men such as Edward Bocking & John Dering who set out to use her visions as the path to power?

This is certainly an intriguing thesis that Barton's prophecies were behind not only Catherine & Mary's refusal to fall in line but also the negative stance of the Pope after an initial wavering, & that Anne Boleyn not only tried to save Barton's life but the fallout led to Anne's death several years after Barton's.

On the one hand, if these prophecies did play a part in delaying Henry's divorce & remarriage, one can see how that could explain his determination & ruthlessness when it came to the Dissolution. On the other, as much as I agree that Anne Boleyn was not the harridan she has been portrayed as, I cannot believe she was as saintly as this tries to paint her either.

Reading it is a strange experience as it seemed more like historical fiction in tone than nonfiction - perhaps even veering into critical fabulation at times. It does seem to suffer a little from confirmation bias & it would be nothing short of an actual miracle if everything lined up as easily as this purports to, but it is a thought-provoking read & I did enjoy reading it. 3.5 stars (rounded down)

SUMMARY:
Research: 3/5 - A fascinating thesis but evidence is heavy on the confirmation bias side.
Writing Style: 3/5 - Reads more like critical fabulation than straightforward nonfiction.
Enjoyment Level: 4/5 - Controversial but thought-provoking & I enjoyed reading it.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Dorothee]

I really think this would have done better as historical fiction instead of non-fiction. The information on Elizabeth Barton is sparse and a lot of works is based on supposition and guesswork at what was going on inside her head. I understand that there is not a lot of lasting primary sources for reference for her, especially from her own side, but amount of time spent theorizing on what she could be thinking combined with the need to “modernize” the way this historical information did not work for me, especially as a piece of non-fiction. There is one point in which the author says something along the lines of this one bit being the one thing that can’t be seen through a modern lens – and yet I felt a lot of it should not have been. Are there parallels to being a modern celebrity? Sure. But a lot of what was present as being the only potential reasons for her actions seemed incorrect to me. I’m not a great historian or especially knowledgeable about this time period but even I could thing of influences and possibilities not listed here. I also found that even though the author suggests that it is up to the reader to determine what really happened that the presentation was very clear about the author’s own thoughts.

The positives, however, are that I did find it an easy read. Despite my dislike of using terms such as managers, etc., to describe the people around her and trying to equate it to modern day situations, I felt the writing did a good job of presenting information in an easy to consume format. The historical information that was referenced to was interesting and I had known little about Elizabeth Barton.

2.5 stars rounded up. I still think that this would have been much better as a historical fiction book. I have heard the author speak about the book and liked the afterward but I found the presentation less impactful.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Hayley Nolan, and Netgalley for this e-ARC.

[Jen Burrows]

The central idea behind Notorious is a compelling one. History has a habit of reducing women to archetypes, and revisiting the stories of some of its most infamous female figures feels like fertile ground for a thoughtful exploration of myth, reputation and power.

Nolan's central argument that the truth is often more complicated than the stories we've inherited makes a worthwhile premise, but the book seems oddly unwilling to apply the same scepticism to its own narrative. Historical sources are frequently treated as reliable when they support the author's interpretation, while contradictory evidence is waved away. The result is a book that claims to embrace ambiguity whilst often steering the reader quite firmly towards its preferred conclusions.

The writing style didn't help. Every chapter is packed with sensational language and a relentless stream of semi-rhetorical questions. It creates a strange tension between certainty and uncertainty that never quite resolves; you feel as if you are being nudged towards a particular viewpoint whilst being told that no one can ever really know what happened.

That's not to say Notorious is without merit. The women featured are fascinating, and there were several stories I knew little about beforehand. The book certainly succeeds in highlighting how historical reputations are constructed and manipulated over time. I just wish it had trusted the material more and relied less on dramatic flourishes and speculative leaps.

*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*

[Sarah Kimberley]

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury for kindly sending me a proof of Nolan’s latest work. A powerful piece of women’s history, working the formidable nun of Kent, Elizabeth Barton, into the already well established and equally tumultuous narrative of Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall.
In the highly charged atmosphere of Tudor England, an illiterate teenage domestic servant briefly became the most politically dangerous woman in the kingdom. Once relegated to a tragic footnote of the English Reformation, Nolan now brings her blazing into the picture. Barton was both terrifying yet pitiful. While I absolutely loved the intensity of her and her scheming, I found the speculative emotion throughout the book a little distracting. We do not know for certain how these people thought and how they felt, so the psychological conjecture crossed the line a bit for me. Also to make Elizabeth Barton a formidable "head-to-head" rival to Anne Boleyn, Nolan occasionally simplifies the incredibly complex, multi-layered politics of the Henrician court.
It really wasn’t that straight forward, but I commend Nolan for exploring this possibility.
Thank you Hayley for completely shifting the narrative scale by centering the entire book around Elizabeth. You get a deep, vivid exploration of Barton's actual life, and she is such a deeply fascinating part of the reformation. Framing Elizabeth and Anne as two distinct women caught on opposing sides of a brutal, structural game of survival was brilliant. There are a lot of strengths in this book and I was very entertained.

[Cris ♡]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Hayley Nolan offers a refreshing and highly entertaining perspective on Tudor history by pulling Elizabeth Barton—the so-called Nun of Kent—out of the historical footnotes and placing her front and center. I really appreciated how this book reframed the well-known era of Anne Boleyn's rise and fall by focusing on Barton's actual life and portraying both women as individuals trying to survive the brutal, male-dominated machinery of the court from opposite ends.

While the premise is brilliant and the narrative is undeniably engaging, I did have a couple of reservations. First, the author relies heavily on psychological speculation, frequently projecting specific emotions and inner thoughts onto real historical figures. Since we cannot truly know how these people felt behind closed doors, this conjectural approach felt a bit distracting at times. Furthermore, the incredibly dense and complex politics of Henry VIII’s court are sometimes overly simplified just to emphasize the head-to-head rivalry between Elizabeth and Anne.

Despite those historical liberties, it is still a deeply fascinating and vivid read. If you enjoy women-centric history and want a fresh, compelling angle on the English Reformation, this is definitely worth picking up!

[Rachel]

Notorious: Anne Boleyn and the Great Tudor Hoax by Hayley Nolan is an entertaining non-fiction and history book that highlights a different angle on the pivotal time. Period of English history involving Anne Boleyn.

This was an entertaining read, which highlighted Elizabeth Barton, a peasant girl/nun who was a large hurdle in the long journey of King Henry VIII marrying and installing Anne as his second queen.

Ms. Nolan presents an interesting and dramatic story involving Barton and the role that she played,as well as the opposing factors played, using her as a pawn to serve their own purposes. The drama that the author brings to this convoluted and heightened series of events, makes this book a quick read.

The only caveat that I have after reading this book, is that there are a fair amount of sources that the author uses that may potentially add a bias to the story. Other than that, I enjoyed reading more on this specific aspect of English history.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you NG and St. Martin’s Press for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 12/1/26.

[BonniePB]

⭐⭐.5 - Faulty
As far as history books go, Notorious isn’t a very long read; the actual narrative is about 231 pages with 40 or so of cited sources. Despite the short length, I was not able to fully engage with Nolan’s presentation of Elizabeth Barton, whom I knew nothing about (and still don’t). The way the book is written and structured was strange. On one hand, it felt like some kind of dense fiction novel. On the other hand, I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a much longer history book without reading the entire first half.

The book also has an excessive amount of paraphrasing from its sources without much added insight. Nolan intended readers to make their own conclusions about Barton and Boleyn’s situation, but I needed more context and unbiased interpretation of the source materials to do that. Ultimately, this book didn't work at all for me.

I might still recommend it to anyone with an interest in Barton, provided you already know all about her.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC via NetGalley.

[Julie]

I have read dozens of books about the Tudors, but this is the first time Elizabeth Barton was featured so prominently. The Holy Nun of Kent was ushered out of obscurity and deemed a saintly prophet by clergy who sought to profit (hah) from her so-called visions. And what did her angels allegedly tell her? That King Henry VIII was doomed if he cast aside Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn.

Really this book is about different factions within England at the time vying for either traditional religion or for reform. So it’s Catholics championing Barton, versus Anne and her reformist leanings. Did this dichotomy and presumption that Barton is responsible for years-long struggle for Henry and Anne’s marriage warrant a full book? Maybe not, but it was an interesting interpretation of events surrounding both women’s downfalls. Nolan was a little to heavy handed in her arguments for Barton’s role in the affair and that Anne was executed because of her dedication to charity and her aversion to Rome.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

[Jo-anne Atkinson]

When Henry VIII set his sights on Anne Boleyn she had no option but to allow it. He wanted to marry her and set aside his wife, there was a precedent, but it took seven years. This was due to opposition from the church and the populace, stirred up by a nun, Elizabeth Barton, and her visions. When Barton inevitably fell, so did Anne.
This is a very different focus in terms of writing about Anne Boleyn and I found it fascinating. Elizabeth Barton is always cast as a minor figure but here Nolan places her centrally. A poor girl who was manipulated by the men around her, her tale was always going to be tragic. What I really liked was a focus on Anne as a reformed both in terms of religion and also in terms of a 'social state', the latter new to me. Nolan has created a very readable book which sets out known events from a very different and refreshing perspective.

[Zoe Lipman]

3.25/5

Like many, I have a fascination with Anne Boleyn and the drama of the Tudor court.

This non-fiction was written in a really interesting and unique way. It felt like I was reading a novel. It was definitely written in that way. Like a novel without dialogue. And this is what made me realize how much I treasure and need dialogue in a novel-feeling book.

Although this writing style wasn't quite for me, I do think a lot of people that want to get into non-fiction would find this to be a really good jumping off point.


And I definitely learned a lot! Court politics are so dramatic! And religion really is always involved, isn't it?

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

[Tara Dawes]

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via NetGalley, all opinions are mine.

A solid 3 star read. I think the subject matter was interesting and for me something new in Tudor history. It kept my attention (even when it started to feel a little long/repetitive).

I think where it all falls a bit apart is that it really feels as though the author is prescribing a lot of very modern feelings to people along with ascribing actions/thoughts to people like they for sure happened when there is no way to know. Clearly the author is passionate about the subject and for me that very much came across I just wish she either would have made it fiction or made it more factual.

I think if you are interested in Tudor history this is at least worth checking out.

[Kristen]

I have been interested in Anne Boleyn and the Tudor family for years. When I saw this book on NetGalley I immediately requested it! This is the first book I’ve read regarding Anne Boleyn.

It is crazy to think that King Henry the VIII of England could become so obsessed with Anne Boleyn that he would breakaway from the Catholic Church to marry her when she wouldn’t become his mistress.

I found this book to be a quick enjoyable read. I listened to it at 2x speed during a 6hr drive. The narrator was clear, concise, and easy to understand at that speed.

Release Date: December 1st, 2026

Thank you Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advanced audiobook of this novel for an honest review!

[carol]

I am unsure how to feel about this book. Nolan had an interesting idea (i.e. inserting her own perspective with the Anne Boleyn vs. Elizabeth Barton narrative), but the execution had me scratching my head. 

As someone who was looking to glean new information on this topic, I couldn't tell which parts were fact, and which were her own opinions - which I can foresee frustrating people who are well-versed in this topic. This did not feel objective enough, thus it was more of a fictional retelling of what occurred. 

[Tortured Readers Department]

A fascinating look at Tudor history! Elizabeth Barton, went from maid to revered nun because of her visions. How does she find herself in the middle of a royal divorce and the potential cause of a seven year delay of Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn? Meanwhile, Anne is doing everything in her power to help reformists in England.
Both women had such an impact on history and their stories usually get so wrapped up in the men around them. Wonderfully written and narrated! Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the chance to review!

[Amy Campbell]

This was not what I thought it was - I thought it was more like historical fiction, and it did have some aspects of that. If you're a history buff, this is a really well researched story about Elizabeth Barton, the Holy Nun of Kent, and the game she ran on the court of Henry VIII. I knew nothing of this chapter in British history and the diabolical web woven was entertaining. It was a mite dry, but as I said, if history or Henry VIII is your thing, this is right up your alley.

[Donna McCaul Thibodeau]

This book tells the story of Elizabeth Barton, the holy nun of Kent, and how she kept King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn from marrying for seven years.
I'm a big fan of the Tudors, but haven't read anything about Elizabeth Barton that wasn't a footnote. It was very interesting to read about her, and her life. If you aren't a fan of the Tudors, this book might be slightly boring.

[Kacey/Kris]

I have a great interest of the Tudor era. This book has many of the topics and information that a lot of other books do but Iike how this one brings a more positive perspective on Anne and brings Elizabeth Barton. Highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Tudor Era.

[Cordelia]

What is with the tone of this book? DNF

[Heather Tyler]

A fascinating and accessible read. Informative and easy to follow. History fans will find this lesser known part of the Tudor period interesting.

[Ronnica Fatt]

Like a Philippa Gregory novel in non-fiction form. I love listening to history and this was an enjoyable read, especially because it doesn’t center men, like most of Western history.

[Jo Wheater]

Absolutely fascinating! Always believed that Anne Boleyn had been maligned, and loved the evidence etc that supports this. Well written and engaging