The Fiction Addiction

Anne Boleyn is a name remembered by nearly every student of European and World History. Only slightly less infamous as her husband, she has long been associated with scandal and reformation; often vilified and blamed for the mistreatment of Queen Katherine. King Henry VIII, quite literally, moved Heaven and Earth to gain Anne Boleyn as his prize -- a wife who could give to him a son worthy of being heir to the throne of England. The story is famous, leaving little need to retell it here. And to be quite honest I wondered how even Jean Plaidy could retell the story of Anne Boleyn and keep my interest. Yet Plaidy delivers a humanizing tale of Anne Boleyn worthy of belonging to any fan of the Tudor period.

This remarkable story, retold as a first person account by Anne Boleyn, grants the readers more insight into the thoughts and perceptions of King Henry VIII's second wife. Plaidy delivers a more human picture of Anne Boleyn, touching on her innermost fears and drawing them out into the light and, in turn, drives the readers to take a more sympathetic stance on their views of the doomed queen.

Additionally, Plaidy's uncanny ability to weave in researched facts from history help supplement a feeling of realism so often missing from other historical fiction novels. Jean Plaidy writes historical fiction the way historical fiction should be written... history presented in the form of a novel rather than romance written into a historical setting.

Reading this novel truly impacted my perceptions of the story as well. I often found myself hoping that Anne Boleyn would escape her fate... all the while knowing that this would not happen.