Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I by Tracy Borman

My review

5/5 stars

I've done a lot of reading about both of the women featured in this book, making the fact that I loved it so much even more of a marker.

What the author does with this book is take readily available information and presented in a way that makes the lasting impact that Anne Boleyn left on her daughter's life both more obvious and irrefutable. The different perspective provided was interesting and well-written.

I listened to the audiobook, which was wonderfully read by the author, with the perfect infusion of passion and mastery of the topic to bring the time period and its' inhabitants to life.

Book blurb

One of the most extraordinary mother and daughter stories of all time - Anne Boleyn, the most famous of Henry VIII's wives and her daughter Elizabeth, the 'Virgin Queen'.

Anne Boleyn is a subject of enduring fascination. By far the most famous of Henry VIII's six wives, she has inspired books, documentaries and films, and is the subject of intense debate even today, almost 500 years after her violent death. For the most part, she is considered in the context of her relationship with Tudor England's much-married monarch. Dramatic though this story is, of even greater interest - and significance - is the relationship between Anne and her daughter, the future Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth was less than three years old when her mother was executed. Given that she could have held precious few memories of Anne, it is often assumed that her mother exerted little influence over her.
But this is both inaccurate and misleading. Elizabeth knew that she had to be discreet about Anne, but there is compelling evidence that her mother exerted a profound influence on her character, beliefs and reign. Even during Henry's lifetime, Elizabeth dared to express her sympathy for her late mother by secretly wearing Anne's famous 'A' pendant when she sat for a painting with her father and siblings.

Piecing together evidence from original documents and artefacts, this book tells the story of Anne Boleyn's relationship with, and influence over her daughter Elizabeth. In so doing, it sheds new light on two of the most famous and influential women in history.

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You can buy the book here now. It was published by Hodder & Stoughton.

For more on the author, you can head to her website, follow her on X or check out her Goodreads page.