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The Boleyns of Hever Castle
Hever Castle is a picture-postcard fortified manor house nestled in the Kent countryside. It is famous for its links with the Boleyns, an East Anglian gentry family who rose and fell dramatically at the court of King Henry VIII.
In The Boleyns of Hever Castle, historians Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway invite you into the home of this notorious family.
Travel back in time to those 77 years of Boleyn ownership. Tour each room just as it was when Anne Boleyn retreated from court to escape the advances of Henry VIII or when she fought off the dreaded ‘sweat’. See the 16th century Hever Castle come to life with room reconstructions and read the story of the Boleyns, who, in just five generations, rose from petty crime to a castle, from Hever to the throne of England.
Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway have combined their considerable knowledge of the Boleyn family and Hever Castle to create this luxurious book. Packed with history and full-colour images, The Boleyns of Hever Castle will educate and enlighten you.“A sumptuously illustrated and impeccably researched history about the domestic life of a family that shaped British history. This is a fascinating window into both the Boleyns’ lives at Hever and upper-class life on the eve of the Reformation.” - Gareth Russell, Author of Young and Damned and Fair.
In The Boleyns of Hever Castle, historians Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway invite you into the home of this notorious family.
Travel back in time to those 77 years of Boleyn ownership. Tour each room just as it was when Anne Boleyn retreated from court to escape the advances of Henry VIII or when she fought off the dreaded ‘sweat’. See the 16th century Hever Castle come to life with room reconstructions and read the story of the Boleyns, who, in just five generations, rose from petty crime to a castle, from Hever to the throne of England.
Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway have combined their considerable knowledge of the Boleyn family and Hever Castle to create this luxurious book. Packed with history and full-colour images, The Boleyns of Hever Castle will educate and enlighten you.“A sumptuously illustrated and impeccably researched history about the domestic life of a family that shaped British history. This is a fascinating window into both the Boleyns’ lives at Hever and upper-class life on the eve of the Reformation.” - Gareth Russell, Author of Young and Damned and Fair.
187 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2021
159 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 10, 2021
This takes the castle back to 1513 when the most famous and infamous family resided there.I thought a light overview of the castle was discussed including the achitecture,grounds and history of the building.What was really fun to me was that it gave you an idea of what it could have looked like in Anne Boleyn's day and also the stunning photographs.Well written,researched and even providing some details a long time Tudor fan such as myself hadn't heard before.
October 5, 2021
Hever Castle, Kent, England. 1512. Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway’s The Boleyns of Hever Castle is a beautiful and fascinating book. I have been lucky to have visited this “fortified manor house” surrounded by a moat fed by by the Eden River twice. I am an Anglophile, and it all started with my obsession with Anne Boleyn. My first trip to England had to include a visit to Hever Castle to see where Anne and her family lived, and where Anne found peace when Henry VIII was pursuing her. It is truly a very special place. The authors let the reader ‘see’ Hever Castle’ where generations of Boleyns/Bullens lived for 77 years. The outside of Hever Castle looks as it did when Anne and her family lived there. My imagination had a field day! Within this book are photographs and illustrations that enable the reader to understand this home of the Boleyns, and even though Anne’s father owned many manors, Hever is where they preferred to live. It was home! The narrative provides much history about the family. I learned that Sir George, Anne’s father was a diplomat, well-respected, and a forward thinker concerning education for his daughters. Anne was bright and benefitted from her educational opportunities. Also included is the “afterlife” of Hever Castle when the Boleyns were no more. William Waldorf Astor bought Hever as with his ”fascination with Anne” he wished to put Anne back into Hever, and he certainly did. Highly recommended! 5 stars.
August 2, 2021
A wonderful history of a house and its family
A beautifully illustrated history of both Hever Castle and the Boleyn family. I enjoyed learning more about the house and how it grew and changed under its various owners, and appreciated photos of a place I won't be able to visit for the foreseeable future.
I've been a fan of Claire Ridgway's work for years and the addition of Owen Emmerson's voice makes for an engaging, far-too-quickly finished book.
A beautifully illustrated history of both Hever Castle and the Boleyn family. I enjoyed learning more about the house and how it grew and changed under its various owners, and appreciated photos of a place I won't be able to visit for the foreseeable future.
I've been a fan of Claire Ridgway's work for years and the addition of Owen Emmerson's voice makes for an engaging, far-too-quickly finished book.
December 1, 2021
A beautifully illustrated and impeccably researched history about the domestic life of a family that shaped British history. This is a fascinating window into both the Boleyns' lives at Hever and upper-class life on the eve of the Reformation.
Note: This review was based on an ARC.
Note: This review was based on an ARC.
September 19, 2021
As history nerds, many have wondered what life might have been like during our favorite dynasties. What were castles like in their heydays? Though we might not have a time machine, we have rare chances to visit the actual castles that our favorite historical figures called home. One such place is the breathtaking home of the Boleyns, Hever Castle. Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway have combined their talents to create a beautiful book all about this magical place entitled “The Boleyns of Hever Castle.”
As someone who has never visited England before, Hever Castle is on my bucket list of Tudor places to visit. I have seen the gorgeous pictures and videos from those who have visited and get the exciting opportunity to work at Hever, like Owen Emmerson, the Assistant Curator and Castle historian at Hever. When I heard that Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway were writing this book together, I knew I had to read it.
Like any good tour guide, Emmerson and Ridgway paint a picture for their readers of what they might see when they visit the castle. As they explain, the castle has gone through a few renovations throughout the centuries, so they focus on areas that would have been familiar to the Boleyn family during their 77-year stay.
Of course, Emmerson and Ridgway take an in-depth look into the Boleyn family, how they became owners of this stately palace, and how the estate survived after the fall of the illustrious family. For those who know the story of the Boleyns, it is a delightful reminder of how important Hever was as their home when times got somewhat rocky at the court of Henry VIII. What I found most intriguing was how the castle and the legacy of the Boleyns survived because people like William Waldorf Astor and Queen Victoria had such a love for the Tudors and preserving the past.
It is not just the brilliant writing that tells the tale of Hever Castle in this clever book, and the photographs tell the other half of the story. Since Tudor fans may not have had a chance to visit, myself included, these pictures, sketches, and maps add another layer of enjoyment to this book. Full of fascinating facts, colorful photos, and rigorous research, “The Boleyns of Hever Castle” by Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway is an essential book for anyone who is a fan of the Boleyns and the Tudor dynasty.
As someone who has never visited England before, Hever Castle is on my bucket list of Tudor places to visit. I have seen the gorgeous pictures and videos from those who have visited and get the exciting opportunity to work at Hever, like Owen Emmerson, the Assistant Curator and Castle historian at Hever. When I heard that Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway were writing this book together, I knew I had to read it.
Like any good tour guide, Emmerson and Ridgway paint a picture for their readers of what they might see when they visit the castle. As they explain, the castle has gone through a few renovations throughout the centuries, so they focus on areas that would have been familiar to the Boleyn family during their 77-year stay.
Of course, Emmerson and Ridgway take an in-depth look into the Boleyn family, how they became owners of this stately palace, and how the estate survived after the fall of the illustrious family. For those who know the story of the Boleyns, it is a delightful reminder of how important Hever was as their home when times got somewhat rocky at the court of Henry VIII. What I found most intriguing was how the castle and the legacy of the Boleyns survived because people like William Waldorf Astor and Queen Victoria had such a love for the Tudors and preserving the past.
It is not just the brilliant writing that tells the tale of Hever Castle in this clever book, and the photographs tell the other half of the story. Since Tudor fans may not have had a chance to visit, myself included, these pictures, sketches, and maps add another layer of enjoyment to this book. Full of fascinating facts, colorful photos, and rigorous research, “The Boleyns of Hever Castle” by Owen Emmerson and Claire Ridgway is an essential book for anyone who is a fan of the Boleyns and the Tudor dynasty.
November 12, 2021
Read this last year guess I didn't do a review..If your interested in history and about the wives if Henry 8th then read about where Ann Boleyn and family lived in this fantastic castle. Learn and enjoy the pictures,the amazing history of this castle and all who have lived before and after. Much research went into this book and it is so a must read...
August 2, 2021
An Excellent Book
Another book to feed my obsession with Tudor history! This one made me feel like I was on a walking tour with the authors. The photographs and sketches were beautiful!
Another book to feed my obsession with Tudor history! This one made me feel like I was on a walking tour with the authors. The photographs and sketches were beautiful!
November 11, 2021
Review to come.
Until then, my first attempt at a video book review:
https://youtu.be/IstnNwUZJC4
Until then, my first attempt at a video book review:
https://youtu.be/IstnNwUZJC4
October 20, 2021
An excellent biography of Anne Boleyn and her family, told through the lens of that famous "fairy tale like castle" of Hever.
We find out about its history before and after (Falstaff! The Astors!) but also how important a setting Hever was to momentous events to Anne's life as she took the steps that would lead her to the throne and then the block.
We get a guided tour of the castle, room by room, even brick by brick in some cases, as we follow the renovations and restorations the home has seen over the years, the next best thing to being there in person.
This book has all of the research, up to the minute as of 2021. And, even better, a wide net is cast to get the full picture - textbooks, novels, movies, journal articles, lecture talks, thesis papers, letters, state papers, and more, to shine a bright a light as possible on Anne Boleyn and Hever Castle, a place where the visitor is separated from the past "not by space, but just time."
January 10, 2022
Almost, but my quite.
I loved the premise of the book but it turned into a bit of a mini biography of the family. Not in depth enough to be a decent biography, not enough pictures or illustrations to be a good guide to the house and not enough detail about what events happened at the property to live up to the promos of the book.
It was much too sympathetic towards a family who sold both of their daughters to a tyrant in order to advance their own prospects. None in the Boleyn family was as innocent as this book would have you believe.
The long and short of it is that there is just not enough contemporary evidence from that time period to make a good, in depth book for this topic only a short guide. The author does not come across as a good enough authority on the family or the time period to produce a good biography so appears to have opted for a cobbled together short story which doesn't live up to the promise of the blurb used to sell the book.
I loved the premise of the book but it turned into a bit of a mini biography of the family. Not in depth enough to be a decent biography, not enough pictures or illustrations to be a good guide to the house and not enough detail about what events happened at the property to live up to the promos of the book.
It was much too sympathetic towards a family who sold both of their daughters to a tyrant in order to advance their own prospects. None in the Boleyn family was as innocent as this book would have you believe.
The long and short of it is that there is just not enough contemporary evidence from that time period to make a good, in depth book for this topic only a short guide. The author does not come across as a good enough authority on the family or the time period to produce a good biography so appears to have opted for a cobbled together short story which doesn't live up to the promise of the blurb used to sell the book.
November 4, 2022
Hever Castle is perhaps best known as the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, but there is far more history there. Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 until her execution in May 1536. From her marriage to King Henry VIII of England, she had one surviving daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I.
It is unclear where Anne was born exactly, but she certainly spent part of her childhood at Hever Castle. The Boleyns of Hever Castle takes us back to the rise of the Boleyns and how the castle evolved over the years. The book is wonderfully illustrated with maps and other illustrations. The writing is excellent and really takes you in. I visited Hever Castle many years ago and was immediately taken back there in my mind.
It is unclear where Anne was born exactly, but she certainly spent part of her childhood at Hever Castle. The Boleyns of Hever Castle takes us back to the rise of the Boleyns and how the castle evolved over the years. The book is wonderfully illustrated with maps and other illustrations. The writing is excellent and really takes you in. I visited Hever Castle many years ago and was immediately taken back there in my mind.
November 2, 2021
This was a good history and travelogue to Hever Castle. Paired with an Owen Emmerson and Sarah Morris YouTube Video, a reader can get an excellent overview and introduction to the castle. I never thought I would want to visit Hever as it is a tiny castle, but now I do! The only complaint I have is that I wish there were more photos of the interior. After watching the YouTube video, I saw that there are more rooms and artifacts than shown in the book. Thank you to Natalie Grueninger and her podcast "Talking Tudors" for piquing my interest in the Boleyn Family and their castle. Also, thank you to Kindle Unlimited for making this book available to its subscribers.
June 22, 2022
Maybe it's just a personal thing, but the studies of the most pre-eminent architectural historian in the country, who specialises in buildings of the period, feels like an invaluable resource.
We are taken on a whistle-stop tour of the house that the Boleyns would have known, which is sometimes difficult to follow and only really accessible with the help of the maps, given an overview of the different eras of the Boleyn family and how the house was used, which consists for the most part of an extremely brief biography of Anne Boleyn, and finally an even quicker tour of the house as it is today.
Throughout, there are references to the different names given to rooms without any further explanation or hint as to what other names those same rooms might have and where they might be on the map (what is a solar? Which ante-chamber? I may never know...) and if you are not familiar with the history already, you would be forgiven for getting entirely turned around during the biography of
It's a book written by lovers of the Boleyns, for other lovers of those same Boleyns. The illustrations are nice, and it's certainly very satisfying to flick through and look at.
June 5, 2022
Great insight to one of my favourite castles
Never is one of my favourite castles and this book describes both its history and it's residents perfectly without venturing into to the modern desecration of some of the areas within The building. Use it as a companion piece to visiting The castle and you will get more out of a visit.
Never is one of my favourite castles and this book describes both its history and it's residents perfectly without venturing into to the modern desecration of some of the areas within The building. Use it as a companion piece to visiting The castle and you will get more out of a visit.
October 14, 2022
Brilliant
I know this beautiful little castle very well and work here often but don't have enough time to be still and absorb the history that I would like. This was such an informative and enjoyable read, I have learnt a lot and will see Hever with new eyes on my next visit. Well done and thank you.
I know this beautiful little castle very well and work here often but don't have enough time to be still and absorb the history that I would like. This was such an informative and enjoyable read, I have learnt a lot and will see Hever with new eyes on my next visit. Well done and thank you.
September 29, 2023
A nice little history of Hever Castle. I haven’t been able to make it there yet on my trips to England but it’s on my list of spots to visit next trip. Who isn’t fascinated with this time in history? You’d be mad not to be and this is an excellent reference
December 19, 2023
An excellent literary tour of/guide to Hever Castle. Lots of historical and contemporary context and images to illustrate key rooms, items, and details of the castle and grounds. This would be a great companion to visiting Hever or a glimpse into the space from afar.
August 22, 2021
Wow beyond Amazing
Outstanding A true and epic journey through the years of Hever . The book takes.you on a.thrilling journey into the past of Anne's world and her home.
Outstanding A true and epic journey through the years of Hever . The book takes.you on a.thrilling journey into the past of Anne's world and her home.
August 22, 2021
Hever
Very interesting book about the Boleyns and Hever. Gives an insight into the history of the family. Really good read.
Very interesting book about the Boleyns and Hever. Gives an insight into the history of the family. Really good read.
November 11, 2021
Review to come.
Until then, my first attempt at a video book review:
https://youtu.be/IstnNwUZJC4
Until then, my first attempt at a video book review:
https://youtu.be/IstnNwUZJC4
November 16, 2021
Good overview of the Boleyns, a good starting book for those interested in the family. Gorgeous pictures throughout.
January 8, 2022
Beautiful illustrations and detailed history
January 31, 2022
A great read and a beautiful book
May 4, 2022
Wonderful book on the history of Hever Castle and the famous Boleyn family that lived there.
September 6, 2021
Hever Castle is a picturesque fortified Manor House located in the Kent countryside.
Dating back to the thirteenth century, the historical fascination with this building is universally connected to Anne Boleyn, the second (and most famous) wife of King Henry VIII.
In this book, the authors take us on a behind the scenes look as it were to the period when the Boleyn family began their rise from East Anglian gentry to one of their own being crowned Queen-Consort of England.
Each area of the castle is described in fascinating detail and is accompanied by sumptuous diagrams and photographs to let our imaginations run riot as we transport ourselves back to that moment in time.
This book is a must for any Anne Boleyn fan and if anything, makes you want to go and visit Hever (or in my case, go back for a visit) and see for yourself the rich history and soak up the importance of this building in the story of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII.
Dating back to the thirteenth century, the historical fascination with this building is universally connected to Anne Boleyn, the second (and most famous) wife of King Henry VIII.
In this book, the authors take us on a behind the scenes look as it were to the period when the Boleyn family began their rise from East Anglian gentry to one of their own being crowned Queen-Consort of England.
Each area of the castle is described in fascinating detail and is accompanied by sumptuous diagrams and photographs to let our imaginations run riot as we transport ourselves back to that moment in time.
This book is a must for any Anne Boleyn fan and if anything, makes you want to go and visit Hever (or in my case, go back for a visit) and see for yourself the rich history and soak up the importance of this building in the story of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII.
September 26, 2021
Brilliant ,interesting book with loads of great illustrations and very informative well worth a read.
September 19, 2023
I really liked this book. It gave some snippets of the Boleyns, some details I had never heard before. The pictures of Hever Castle were wonderful. I read this last winter.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews