Ladies-in-Waiting: Women Who Served Anne Boleyn

by Sylvia Barbara Soberton

“An expertly researched and compelling story. Sylvia Barbara Soberton brings to life the court of Anne Boleyn through the women who served and accompanied her. Filled with fascinating detail, this is a must-read for anyone interested in Anne and the women who shared her life.” Dr Elizabeth Norton, Author of The Boleyn The Tudor Femmes Fatales Who Changed English History.
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The aspects of Anne Boleyn’s life and death are fiercely debated by historians, yet her ladies-in-waiting remain an understudied topic. Much emphasis is usually put on Anne’s relationships with the men in her her suitors, her royal husband, her father and brother and her putative lovers who were executed on 17 May 1536. By concentrating on a previously neglected area of Anne Boleyn’s female household, this book seeks to identify the women who served Anne and investigate what roles ladies-in-waiting played in this Queen’s household.
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“A thoroughly well-researched, fascinating and necessary insight into the women who served Anne Boleyn. Essential for Tudor fans.” Amy Licence, author of Anne Adultery, Heresy, Desire.

“Soberton skilfully weaves archival research into her narrative to offer fascinating insights into the familiar old story of Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall. Myths, hidden in plain sight, are gloriously debunked. Vivid, pacy and evocative, this book is a must read for Boleyn enthusiasts and scholars alike.” Barbara Parker Bell, Author of Inside the Wardrobe of Anne Boleyn.

“Well researched and well written. The perfect book to learn about the fascinating ladies in Queen Anne Boleyn’s inner circle. Highly recommended!” Roland Hui, Author of The Turbulent The Story of the Tudor Queens.

“This well-researched book gives us amazing insight into Anne Boleyn and the ladies who served her. Soberton is a master at providing the evidence in a compelling narrative.” Rebecca Larson, Tudors Dynasty podcast.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Tudor Period, Audiobook, British Literature, 16th Century

293 pages, Paperback

Published July 21, 2022

Reviews

[Juliew. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was pretty well researched using primary sources as well as modern.I enjoyed the writing and of course reading Anne's story all over again.I plan on keeping for reference on these women for future reading.I just wasn't thrilled with the organisation of the book which takes you through Anne's life with her ladies popping in where and when they become relavent to her story.There was also a more detailed guide to each lady in the back as well as their photos or paintings if there happened to be one connected to them.I thought the guide and photos should have been placed at the beginning where we could have had a chance to be more familiar with them from the start of the book.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read, with some new, most interesting insights on the women who served Anne Boleyn. Highly recommend

[historic_chronicles · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we think of the people who surrounded Anne Boleyn, our immediate thoughts often do not turn to the women who dominated the daily life of the notorious queen, but of the men who loved her, slandered her, accused her and died with her.

I greatly admire the work of Sylvia Barbara Soberton in shining a light on the women who rarely warranted a mention in the history books. These women, who were defined by their rank and their close relationship with their mistress were her family, friends, confidants, servants, rivals and even betrayers who assisted in bringing about her tragic downfall.

This meticulously researched book is a must-read for those interested in the female side of Anne Boleyn's history. Having been fascinated by Anne for many years, I never thought there was much more I could learn about her life, but the author brings a new insight to the infamous queen through the women around her.

I was engrossed in this book and rarely put it down until I finished. I found the descriptions of how Anne's ladies attended her utterly fascinating. These women dressed her, ate with her, entertained her, slept with her - just some of the tasks required - that show just how intimate these relationships were and why books like Soberton's deserve so much more attention.

I heartily recommend this book to any of those interested in Anne Boleyn and the Tudor Era.

[Heidi Malagisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Anne Boleyn and her rise and fall has been told throughout the centuries in numerous ways. With tales of this memorable monarch came rumors of what happened inside her court and the women who served her during her reign. We tend to look at her life through the lens of the men who interacted with Anne Boleyn at court, but what about the women who knew her? Stories of ladies-in-waiting selling the queen out and secret romances ran rampant throughout the centuries, but how much truth is in these tales? Sylvia Barbara Soberton explores these questions in her latest book, “Ladies-in-Waiting: Women Who Served Anne Boleyn.”

I want to thank Sylvia Barbara Soberton for sending me a copy of this book. I have found Soberton’s previous books fascinating, and when I heard about this book focusing on the women who served Anne Boleyn, it was compelling.

Soberton begins her book by exploring Anne Boleyn’s origins and services as a lady in waiting and a maid of honor for several prominent women across Europe like Mary Tudor and Archduchess Margaret of Savoy. We also look at the relationships between Anne and her female family members, including her sister Mary Boleyn and her Howard relatives.

The bulk of this book focused on Anne Boleyn when she caught the attention of King Henry VIII when she was a lady-in-waiting for Katherine of Aragon. It was fascinating to see how Anne Boleyn interacted with her female friends during this transition time and how they became ladies-in-waiting when she became queen. These friends and ladies-in-waiting included Elizabeth Holland, Bridget Wiltshire, Margery Horsman, Jane Ashley, Mary Zouche, Mary Shelton, and Jane Seymour. We all know this worked out as it resulted in the Great Matter, the ultimate divorce of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon.

These ladies-in-waiting were separated by rank and would help Anne navigate the tumultuous court of Henry VIII until the bitter end. The women around Anne saw her become queen, how she dealt with Henry’s other mistresses, including Bessie Blount and Jane Seymour, the birth of Princess Elizabeth, and how Anne tried to build a relationship with Princess Mary. They also witnessed the queen interacting with influential men in court, including the king and Thomas Cromwell. These men used some of Anne’s closest confidants to bring her ultimate demise through a sham trial and multiple executions.

Soberton does an excellent job telling the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of those who knew her the best, the women who served the queen. Many of these tales were unfamiliar to me, and I think the Tudor community will find them rather illuminating. If you want to learn more about Anne Boleyn and her inner circle during her reign, I highly recommend you read “Ladies-in-Waiting: Women Who Served Anne Boleyn” by Sylvia Barbara Soberton.

[Laura F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

We always think of Anne Boleyn in terms of her relationships with men-Henry VIII, of course, and also the five men who were executed with her on trumped-up charges of treason and adultery. But to truly understand the life and times of this iconic queen it's also important to consider the women in her life: the ladies in waiting and maids of honor who served her before and during her brief reign. They were her servants, her friends, her rivals, and ultimately her betrayers, providing evidence that was used to construct the case against her. The problem is, despite their significance we don't know much about these women, in some cases not even their names. Sylvia Barbara Soberton has done as much as can reasonably be done to remedy this lack, consulting archival sources in a valiant effort to write these women back into the historical narrative. So why is this book not a five-star read? The problem lies in the paucity of original source material shedding light on Anne's ladies and the roles they played. Much has been lost, or destroyed, or never existed in the first place, and Soberton is too responsible a historian to engage in unwarranted speculation without evidence to back it up. Even so, the book contains enough fascinating new material and some surprising revelations that make it a worthy addition to any Tudor fan's library. Recommended!

[theceremonials · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for those interested in Anne Boleyn since it provides a good amount of information on Anne Boleyn’s ladies-in-waiting and how their daily lives serving the Queen looked like. Sylvia Barbara Soberton successfully debunks quite a few myths, such as Mary Shelton being instructed by Anne to seduce Henry in 1535, Lady Anne Shelton and Anne Boleyn’s old governess Mary Orchard awaiting upon Anne in the Tower (the latter possibly didn’t exist at all since her name is only mentioned for the first time in a Victorian book and the author was known for making things up) and Lady Rochford providing evidence of incest against Anne and George.
Also, Sylvia is an engaging writer, which means this book is a real page turner, and you’ll finish reading it quite quickly.

[Leonor Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladies in Waiting

Interesting approach to the subject. I thought the book was made of short biographies, however, the author place each of these women within the confusing story of Anne Boleyn and Henry viii. The author should also be commended for clearly differentiating between information that has been verified and information that is not c!early verifiable or has a questionable source.

Good book to use as a reference in trying to understand the riddle that is Anne Boylein.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography of Anne Boleyn that looks into who were the women surrounding her on her rise to queen, queenship, and downfall. Due to scarcity in the written record, we don't get a full picture of these women, but it's still interesting to get some information on who was in the background, and Soberton works hard to dismantle a lot of the rumors and myths, such as the scorn heaped on Jane Boleyn.

[Soozee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty has been written about the tragic life of Anne Boleyn, but this book concentrates more on sources revealing who her ladies in waiting were and what they did to support her as she rose and fell from grace. Historically accurate with careful research, it is also very readable and transports the reader to Tudor England, at the time of the very selfish King Henry and his quest for an heir.

It is well written, despite a few areas of repetition, and a fascinating story. A very interesting and enjoyable read.

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is well-researched and cited with a nice bibliography at the end-always a big plus in history books. The writing was good and easy to follow, though there was not as much depth as I expected. I like that one of the ladies was correctly identified as Mary Shelton and not the erroneous identification as her sister, Margaret. Overall, I enjoyed reading this.

[Rosie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all Tudor fans a fascinating book

[Betty Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, although this was meticulously researched it was dry. It also glossed over her last year.

[Nyamh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and succinct, would have been nice to have more information in some places.

[Heather Theisen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have liked more about the ladies as opposed to all the detail about Anne boleyn

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Through Soberton, I learned new information about Anne Boleyn’s ladies and friends, which is a portion of her history that is often overlooked.

[Hanna (lapetiteboleyn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting look at the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn through the women around her. I sort of wished it had been longer because what what was there was great.

[Kourtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. I felt this was a little more about Anne Boleyn than her ladies-in-waiting. But liked it and will read more from the author.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise. I thought I know everything about Anne that there is to know but this book surprised me. The author delved deep into Anne's household and uncovered interesting archival sources. I learned a lot from this book and will be reading more from this author.