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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
My fascination with Anne Boleyn means just about any coherent book about her fascinates me. Alison Weir's historical take is chock full of information I haven't read from any other source. However, the academic nature of this book meant I had to read rather slowly, often times rereading long passages to refresh my memory. Perhaps the flaw is not so much the novel, but perhaps my less-than-stellar attention span.
This was a very well researched book by Weir, who has proven her mastery in the field of Tudor research. She builds an incredible case based on primary sources, but interestingly enough also reviews quite a few secondary sources in the telling. I especially enjoyed her recap chapters at the end.
I have always been completely fascinated by the Tudors, particularly Elizabeth 1.
I loved this explanation of the last three months or so of Anne Boleyn's life. It took me forever to read because some of the details get to be a little dry and I usually read at night before bed, and I would fall asleep, but it's amazing written and Allison Weir is a genius. She did so much research and really showed what really was happening to cause the fall of Anne and how it was all orchestrated to get her out of the way.
I'm new to this love of all things Tudors in the past year and while the information in this way hefty, it was fascinating.
I'm new to this love of all things Tudors in the past year and while the information in this way hefty, it was fascinating.
I'm sure people have their criticism or complaints about Alison Weir as a historian or a writer, but you can't say she left out the details or didn't trace every little bit through to its primary-most source! She is a master of the art of historical research.
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I have been enamored with the story of Anne Boleyn since studying the British mystery plays in college and traveling to Hampton Court. If you are looking for a purely fictitious account of Anne and her days in childhood until court until queen, then this is not that read. Instead, it focuses solely on the days leading up until Henry VIII ordered Anne to the Tower and her time inside until her untimely death with a glimpse at her daughter Elizabeth I’s reign and Anne’s memory/perception today. The author does a fantastic job of never assuming or taking a side, but rather laying out all the facts and possibilities for every single historical and factual instance while sharing what seems most and least likely and what has been dismissed as purely conjecture or false after having been disproven. I am eager to read more of Weir’s novels about Anne herself, in her earlier days, before she was queen and at the start of her reign, as well as her other works about Henry’s wives, but this was a fascinating historical account of a small but crucial chunk of time with so much mystery surrounding it. It made my nerdy heart very happy even with such solemn material.
informative
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
I've spent a lot of time reliving the final days of Anne Boleyn, and this book provides an intricate understanding of the world Anne lived in and her impact on culture.