Anne Boleyn, Henry VIIIβs second Queen and mother of Elizabeth I, who was beheaded on charges of incest and adultery, was a woman of such power and mystery that many thought her a witch. Now, her legend is brought to life in a fascinating, vividly written biography by one of our most distinguished contemporary novelists.
A dark-haired beauty, not yet twenty, Anne Boleyn was torn away from her first and only love by order of a lustful, determined King. But equally determined and strong-willed herself, Anne Boleyn swore revenge and refused Henryβs attentions β unless he made her Queen. Thus was set into motion the extraordinary series of events β spanning ten years β that resulted in the irreversible break between the Church of England and the Church of Rome. But for the woman who so captivated the King that he defied the Pope to marry her, why was her fall from favor so sudden and complete?
Only three years after the long-awaited marriage, Henry conspired with his chief minister to have Anne Boleyn accused of adultery with five men β one of them her own brother. Beheaded along with her βparamours,β the mystery still remains as to what happened after her death. Was she secretly buried β under a blank slab of black marble β in a remote Norfolk church? And does her ghost walk there still?
That Anne Boleyn was no ordinary woman is confirmed by the historic events she precipitated; hers is a story all the more extraordinary for its being true. Drawing on letters, diaries and accounts of the period, Norah Lofts has captured, with remarkable sensitivity and insight, the indomitable spirit of a most unusual woman. The great figures of the period emerge with equal clarity: Henry himself, as a man obsessed with obtaining the unobtainable; Katharine, pathetic in her devotion β but admirable in her piety; the faithful Wolsey, unfairly betrayed by Anne; the legendary Sir Thomas More.
More than simply a biography, βAnne Boleynβ is the intense drama of a willful, ambitious woman who managed to dominate and equally willful King; whose power over Henry VIII β so great that it bred suspicions of spells and sorcery β ended by changing the course of history.
"The writing is lovely - gentle and strong, wholehearted and precise, a please to wonder over." - The New Yorker. "What a gift Miss Lofts has for keeping us turning the pages of her books!" - Homes and Gardens.