Speculation: Why did Henry marry Jane Seymour?

Eleven days after the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII wed Jane Seymour, the lady-in-waiting who had been his mistress for some four months. He had fought for seven years to marry Anne Boleyn, and had to wait just some weeks whilst her trials were underway, a bit more than a week after her execution, to marry Jane. What did he see in Jane? Was there a reason why he wed her so immediately?

Eustace Chapuys observed that Jane was of "middling stature" as well as "pale" and of little beauty. Anne Boleyn had never exactly been called beautiful, but was known for her allure; Jane was a conservative woman who banned the seductive French fashions from the court which Anne had encouraged. She could read and write very little; her primary talents were needlework and house management, she was quiet and of little spirit. Why did Henry fall in love with Plain Jane, the sort of girl who was a dime a dozen at his court?

She and Anne were different like night and day -- literally. She was fair-haired and gentle, Anne was dark, wild and at times, reckless. Henry had tired from the roughness, quarrels, storms that came along with being with Anne; Jane comforted him, she was gentle, nurturing, she was docile, obedient, quiet, warm. Jane was what he believed he needed, her own motto was "Bound to obey and serve."

Jane might have been chaste, virtuous, conservative -- but one must remember that she was also complacent and obedient. Could it be that Henry VIII wed Jane so immediately because she was pregnant? He had been fairly patient with Catherine, and Anne, who I believe was 28 at the time (c. 1507, read this) could eventually bear him more sons; but he was desperate for his son, and as he had at the discovery of Anne's pregnancy in 1532/3, Henry would do whatever it took to free himself of his wife and get his heir. Of course, Jane Seymour being pregnant is really just a theory. Henry might have simply impulsively decided that he had finished with Anne; he might have been plotting to rid of her since her January miscarriage. Who knows?

Fact and Opinion: Who was the favorite of the 6 wives?

Few kings would wed more than two or three times, and did so only if her precedent had died. But then there were few if any kings like Henry VIII. The question asked again and again, and the question that no one could ever truly know the answer to is, who was his favorite? Who was the wife who he gave his amorous youth to? Catherine of Aragon, wife number 1. Who was the wife he moved the very Earth for, risking his favor and throne to create a new church and religion to wed? Anne Boleyn, wife number 2. Who was the wife who gave him his son, the wife in his Tudor dynasty portrait? Jane Seymour, wife number 3. Who was the wife he kept a friendship with at their marriage's end? Anne of Cleves, wife number 4. Who was the wife that made him feel young again? Katherine Howard, wife number 5. Who was the wife at his side in sickness and in health? Catherine Parr, the last wife.

What many people who staunchly believe that Henry VIII's one true love was Jane Seymour, mother of his only son, fail to see, is that his relationships with all of his wives were never, ever black and white. The above six questions and their answers prove that Henry loved each of his wives (at least at some point in their marriage) for different reasons, for the different things they did, their different traits and qualities.

Catherine was patient, intelligent, sweet, she was more than just a wife to him in the earliest years of their marriage, but in some ways a mother and caring older sister. There is no doubt that there was a time he was in love with her, and she arguably was his favorite wife; their relationship simply soured as she aged quicker than him and bore no sons. However, I simply can't see them as soul-mates, they were too different; they might both have been brilliant music-lovers, but Henry adored courtly love, seduction, poetry and adventurous romance, things pious, vanilla, pure and almost sexually naive Catherine could never deliver to him.

Jane Seymour was Henry's only truly acknowledged wife, and the only one to give him what Henry would kill and had killed for: the coveted son. He was drawn to her at once for how different she was from his own wife; she came with no drama, no quarrels, no rage and difficulties. She was calm, quiet, sweet, and pale, docile and obedient; she was the perfect break from Anne. But she could never be Henry's partner, soul mate; she was less educated than Anne, less bold and with few or no opinions. She didn't write poetry or music, she did embroidery and did as she was bid. But even so Henry was inconsolable for some time after her death, and was said to take up stitching and embroidery, Jane's trademark pastimes. She was the only queen depicted in the Tudor dynasty painting, being the mother of his son; she was one of the only of his wives who left him with good memories and fondness, received a funeral, and was buried at Henry's side.

Anne of Cleves was his wife for the briefest amount of time -- less than a year. Their relationship soured the moment she dented his pride by spurning him, come to visit her in disguise as a peasant. Her English was poor, her wit was far from sharp, she was un-stylish and could not dance, within days of their marriage Henry was seeking a way to escape her. If ever he did develop affections for Anne of Cleves, they were platonic. Favorite wife? No, but not his least favorite.

Katherine Howard is known as the king's most insignificant wife, the young and foolish whore who played games and lost them as well as her head. It is believed that Henry wed Katherine because she was pregnant with his child by the end of his marriage to Anne of Cleves; but there was something about Katherine that made him feel young again. He had aged considerably since his intense courtship of Anne Boleyn, he had gained an incredible amount of weight, the world felt heavier on his shoulders; Katherines energy and youth soothed him, but when she failed to take with child and betrayed him, he dropped her as though a toy.

Catherine Parr was his final wife. By the time they wed Henry was no longer interested in heirs, sex, and amorous play; all he wanted was stability and a kind and gentle nurse. He loved her in an almost sisterly, motherly way, and while his feelings for her were undoubtedly strong, he was at an age where love mattered little, and so nobody could say whether she was romantically his favorite wife, the love of his life.

When people think of Henry VIII's favorite wife, Anne Boleyn is the last who comes to mind; people are under the impression that he hated her, only naturally though, as he did order her execution. But even at their marriage's bitter, violent end, I don't think Henry ever stopped loving her. He might have lied and even convinced himself of the charges against her, but the only emotions I believe he truly experienced were hurt, regret, and frustration. There's a good chance that Anne was his favorite wife, that she was his soul mate, in my opinion. There was nothing more attractive to Henry than her alluring wit, her open-mind to reform and how she worked as his intelligent partner in crime. They could connect on an intellectual level, they could hunt together, explore art, religion, and music together, they could write poetry and compose music together. Anne made for an exciting mistress but she simply did not know how the transition from lover to wife worked, and had she learned and produced a male heir, she might have been his final wife.

Book Review: The Lady Elizabeth

Even at age two, Elizabeth is keenly aware that people in the court of her father, King Henry VIII, have stopped referring to her as “Lady Princess” and now call her “the Lady Elizabeth.” Before she is three, she learns of the tragic fate that has befallen her mother, the enigmatic and seductive Anne Boleyn, and that she herself has been declared illegitimate, an injustice that will haunt her.

What comes next is a succession of stepmothers, bringing with them glimpses of love, fleeting security, tempestuous conflict, and tragedy. The death of her father puts the teenage Elizabeth in greater peril, leaving her at the mercy of ambitious and unscrupulous men. Like her mother two decades earlier she is imprisoned in the Tower of London–and fears she will also meet her mother’s grisly end. Power-driven politics, private scandal and public gossip, a disputed succession, and the grievous example of her sister, “Bloody” Queen Mary, all cement Elizabeth’s resolve in matters of statecraft and love, and set the stage for her transformation into the iconic Virgin Queen.

They tell you not to judge a book by its cover, but it was difficult for me to resist plucking Weir's second historical novel off the library shelf due to its beautifully green front cover art. I came to my final decision to read this novel out of a keen interest in Elizabeth's teenage years, especially her infamous times with Thomas Seymour. I grazed the surface of their romance in Meyer's young adult novel, Beware Princess Elizabeth, which simply left me more curious. Beyond that I was also simply interested in another Tudor fiction read, and one about Elizabeth was perfect.

I was absorbed almost instantly; given how most of the Elizabethan novels I read are of Anne Boleyn, I hardly get the chance to take a look at Elizabeth's life in 1536 after her mother's death. Weir brings you up close and personal to the troubled childhood of the bastard princess and the story blasts off. The Lady Elizabeth is rich with emotion, court excitement, and is enhanced with bits and pieces of almost erotic and archetypal romances. The story is the most perfect blend of fact and fiction that I've probably ever read; the author reminds you that whilst she's a talented novelist and story-teller, she's primarily a historian, using sources such as letters and records to create some scenes and dialogue. This novel is like a fun and engaging history book; it's simply amazing.

The Lady Elizabeth is definitely a novel worth reading. Travel through six wives and grow up with a motherless young princess, striving for the affections of an all-fickle father and searching for her place in the world and the truth about the mother she loved. It's a reading experience as educational as an Eric Ives biography, and yet as fun, flavorful, and exciting as a Philippa Gregory novel.

Statistics
Pages: 473
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year Published: 2008
Kylie's Rating: ♛♛♛♛♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (5/5 Stars)

Speculation: Was Catherine's marriage to Henry VIII legal?

Background Information: In 1501, sixteen-year-old Catherine of Aragon sailed to England from Spain to wed Prince Arthur, Henry VIII's older brother. Arthur had always been frail and died within months of their marriage, leaving Catherine as the widow Princess-Dowager of England. When Henry VIII came to power in 1509, he received a dispensation from Pope Julius II to wed Catherine, his brother's widow and in the eyes of some, his sister. She took with child many times but their only child who lived past infancy was a daughter, Mary Tudor. Henry VIII needed an heir to keep alive the Tudor dynasty and maintain unity in his kingdom; but before long Catherine became barren. Henry knew by 1526 that he had to find some way to get a legitimate son.

Casting aside all other factors such as Henry's dire need and belief that England and the Tudor dynasty would survive only under a male heir, his passionate longing for Anne Boleyn, and the fact that without a king to succeed him European powers or England's nobility would swoop in and tear the land apart, should Henry have divorced wife number 1? The question is not so much should as it is could he legally annul his marriage to Catherine?

Henry's statement was that when Catherine wed his brother, Arthur, in 1501, their marriage was consummated and so thus, having had intercourse with her brother, having such with Henry would be incest. He took this quote from Leviticus: "If a brother is to marry the wife of a brother they will remain childless" and cited it as the reason why he and Catherine had no sons. Catherine adamantly claimed that she went to Henry's bed a virgin, never once having sexual intercourse with her brother; even so, the couple had a dispensation from Pope Julius II. Only Pope Julius could look into or recall the dispensation, but he had died and Clement, in a sticky situation with the Empire, could -- but he was in no position to.

Alas, was the marriage truly illegal? Personally, I would say yes, and not simply because I am a die-hard Anne Boleyn lover. In those times, marriage and sex were as one: it was as good as impossible for a couple to wed and never bed. I don't doubt that Catherine and Arthur at some point had intercourse, and whether or not they did, the marriage still had witnesses and was legal. I do believe that in those days, no dispensation should have been able to outweigh the word of God, as Henry stated.

Either way, Rome never came to a conclusion and Henry had to take matters into his own hands, infamously severing all ties to the R.C.C. (Roman Catholic Church) and creating his own, the Anglican Church (which was still Catholic). In the eyes of the Empire and Rome, Henry became free to marry only after the death of Catherine of Aragon, viewed by some as Henry's one and only true wife.

My Opnion: Back in the ways of the sixteenth century, I believe all marriages of Henry VIII were legal save for this, but today I would say that all six marriages happened and can still be counted. Henry annulled all marriages save for those to Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr, using means of pre-contracts and affinity to squeeze out of the other four.

Wars of the Roses, 1455-1485

Battles of the civil war took place between 1455 and 1485, though conflict truly began in 1399 when Henry of Bolingbroke founded the House of Lancaster usurping the throne from cousin Richard II of the House of York. Henry of Bolingbroke's and the Lancaster lines' right to the throne was based off of their descent from Edward III (a Plantaganet king)'s fourth son, John of Gaunt. Richard II had been but ten at the time, Edward III's grandson whose father, the initial heir known as the Black Prince, had died. Henry of Bolingbroke's heir, Henry V, died whilst his son and heir Henry VI was but an infant, and his right to the throne was challenged by Richard, Duke of York, a descendant of Edward III's third and fifth sons.

The two houses quarreled and clashed often, but the first armed battles began in 1455. The war became more violent in 1459 and there were times when Yorkists were forced to flee the country before Richard of York became England's Protector and Henry VI was captured by one of York's supporters, the Earl of Warwick; at Wakerfield York and second son Edmund were slain by the Lancaster forces, who also recaptured Henry VI. It was under the deceased Richard of York's eldest son, who was proclaimed Edward IV by Warwick, who captured the capital, that the Lancaster forces were crushed at the 1461 Battle of London.

In 1464, Edward married for love against the wishes of Warwick, who had put him on the throne out of the belief that he would be his 'puppet'. Elizabeth Woodville had been related through her mother to one of Henry VI's uncles; Warwick despised Woodville and her clan, and Edward for allowing them such influence on him. He attacked and captured Edward and attempted unsuccessfully to rule through him, and in the face of rebellion, alas released him.

Warwick rebelled again in 1570 and defeated, fled to France where he gained support from Lancastrians from an invasion if he fought to restore Henry VI. Betrayed by Warwick's brother, Edward IV was forced to flee to Burgundy. France, supporting the Lancastrians, engaged in war against Burgundy, which was forced to gather an army to help restore Edward IV. Whilst reclaiming his dukedom Edward gained much support, took prisoner the restored Henry VI and won back his throne. While he left strong male heirs upon his 1483 death, his passing brought on immense complications, chaos, war, and ultimately led to the ascent of the House of Tudor.

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Rise of the Tudors

In 1483, Richard of Gloucester declared the marriage between his brother Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville invalid, making illegal all of their heirs and setting himself up as Richard III and allegedly murdering his two nephews. He was met with rebellion from the duke of Buckingham and others, but only Henry Tudor could stop him. Henry Tudor's claim to the throne was through being a great-great-grand son to Edward III; it was a very controversial claim being through his mother, great-granddaughter of John Gaunt, Edward III's illegitmate son. With the support of Buckingham's rebels, the French, and Lancastrians, Henry Tudor won at the battle of Bosworth when Richard III was betrayed by key military figures beneath him and died. To make amends with the Yorkists, Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII of England, wed the daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville: Elizabeth of York.

Unfortunately, this was not the final military challenge Henry VII was faced with.

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Book Review: The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn

When the young Queen Elizabeth I is entrusted with Anne Boleyn's secret diary, she discovers a great deal about the much-maligned mother she never knew. And on learning the truth about her lascivious and despotic father, Henry VIII, she vows never to relinquish control to any man. But this avowal doesn't prevent Elizabeth from pursuing a torrid love affair with her horsemaster, Robin Dudley -- described with near-shocking candor -- as too are Anne's graphic trysts with a very persistent and lustful Henry. Blending a historian's attention to accuracy with a novelist's artful rendering, Maxwell weaves compelling descriptions of court life and devastating portraits of actual people into her naughty, page-turning tale. The result is a masterpiece of historical fiction -- so prophetic of our time that one would think it were ripped from today's headlines.

I heard a lot about the book before actually reluctantly reading it; its page number was so small (I typically enjoy longer novels) and I'm not such a fan of stories told in the form of diaries, and so it was a long time before The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn found its way to my read-list. I decided to read it for a school project since it was the only Anne Boleyn related book on the list, and after the first few pages I was simply pulled in. Maxwell's book is brilliant; I've always known that the lives of the mother daughter duo, Anne and Elizabeth, had many similarities, and in a lot of ways Elizabeth reflected her martyred mother despite their too-short time together, but everything between them is magnified and brought together to form two breathtaking intersecting stories full of twists, irony and parallels. Neither of them had easy lives and the difficulties Anne experienced and how she went about solving these problems translate perfectly into her daughter's life making for guidance and counsel that guides her most.

What I absolutely adored about this novel was how there was the perfect amount of each side of the story, so that neither made the other fall flat. Anne is an alluring, bold, and headstrong girl, witty, daring and the perfect alchemy of 'chaste lady' and seductive, fun-loving minx; Henry falls instantly and deeply in love with the woman strong enough to be his partner, beautiful enough to be his lover, and despite her warming affections toward him, Anne knows that to fall too passionately for an all-powerful king could be potentially dangerous, and whether he loves her or not she is at his mercy. Her adventurous ups and downs are mirrored by the story of Elizabeth, and the roles are entirely switched: Elizabeth is the twenty-five-year-old, all-powerful Queen of England, but it's a far from glamorous life. In love with her childhood playmate and teenage lover and friend, she aches with heartbreak at the knowledge that it would take the moving of the very Earth to have him her king; he is a married man far from beloved by her people, of a family line infamous for treachery toward the crown... and she is the Queen of England, sought by kings and princes of Europe's greatest powers. Every step she takes is met with harsh judgment and criticism and followed speedily by scandal. She learns quickly that to survive and thrive it will take not simply guidance from the council, but her own fallen mother.

Their tales collide and explode and it's simply masterful. I had no problems with any part of it. Maxwell's The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn is an emotional powerhouse, and it's neither of their stories told like you've ever seen them before. Their characters grow, mature, discover the truth and shape their own destinies as one and it's absolutely breathtaking. I'll always see Anne Boleyn in Elizabeth Tudor's greatest decisions which transformed her into Gloriana, and it's because of this book, unquestionably one of the greatest Anne Boleyn related novels ever written, and one I am begging all Tudor-enthusiasts or simply one looking for a good book, to read. The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn is timeless magic; you're heartless if you don't shed a tear.

Statistics
Pages: 281
Publisher: Touchstone
Year Published: 1998
Kylie's Rating: ♛♛♛♛♛♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (6/5 Stars)

Marriage of Catherine of Aragon (1501/9)

Catherine of Aragon was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella or Spain, and at 16-years-old arrived in England to wed the Prince Arthur, one year her junior. Arthur had always been somewhat frail, and died within months of their marriage. But in the years, decades to come, Catherine would learn that their brief marriage mattered little: it was the night of their wedding that meant everything. She was given the title of Princess-Dowager, and remained in England living a humble and secluded life until 1509.

At Henry VII's 1409 death, his only living son and heir, the seventeen-year-old Henry VIII came to power. He received a dispensation from the Pope Julius II to wed his brother's widow and married Catherine, who became instantly beloved by him and the English people. Catherine took with child almost instantly, but like almost all pregnancies to come, the child was miscarried. Babies continued to be miscarried, born dead, or die within weeks until 1516, when Mary Tudor was born.

Catherine took with child again, but no son was born and she continued to age. It soon became clear that from her Henry would never receive the male heir he and England needed. There were others with claims to the throne as or more solid than his, and the Tudor dynasty would fail without princes; by 1525/6 Henry alas concluded that his marriage was accursed and if he wished for a male heir, he had to cast Catherine and their daughter aside and seek annulment: not simply for himself, but for England.

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Book Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.

When one thinks of Tudor England, he thinks of The Other Boleyn Girl. It's unfortunate, but true. Now, I've written a whole article disproving several highly fictional points of this novel, and so repeating all the wretched depictions I hated about this book would be awfully irksome and repetitive. There are many points I made here in my article "Breaking Down 'The Other Boleyn Girl'" that, if you're considering reading this should definitely read first before this review and before the actual novel.

Now to begin the actual review. With a story like Anne's and Mary's, there was so much potential for a great novel. And Gregory did create a great novel: just not a historical one. The Other Boleyn Girl was a rotten blend of lies and twisted truth, and it is a real shame that it represents Tudor books and has destroyed Anne Boleyn's reputation. All history grudge's aside, it's an entertaining book, but there should be a warning label so that readers can know just how fictional the novel is. Aside from history and plot, Gregory's writing style is laid-back yet sensory, rich and yet stylishly dry. Sure, I hated this book but there's no denying that she's one of the most talented writers out there. I don't recommend the novel, but as long as you're aware of the truth, go ahead and take a try at it, but warning, your blood will boil.

Statistics
Pages: 672
Publisher: Touchstone
Year Published: 2001
Kylie's Rating: ♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (1/5 Stars)

Book Review: The Boleyn Inheritance

Three Women Who Share One Fate: The Boleyn Inheritance
Anne of Cleves: She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a throne whose last three occupants are dead. King Henry VIII, her new husband, instantly dislikes her. Without friends, family, or even an understanding of the language being spoken around her, she must literally save her neck in a court ruled by a deadly game of politics and the terror of an unpredictable and vengeful king. Her Boleyn Inheritance: accusations and false witnesses.

Katherine Howard: She catches the king's eye within moments of arriving at court, setting in motion the dreadful machine of politics, intrigue, and treason that she does not understand. She only knows that she is beautiful, that men desire her, that she is young and in love -- but not with the diseased old man who made her queen, beds her night after night, and killed her cousin Anne. Her Boleyn Inheritance: the threat of the axe.

Jane Rochford: She is the Boleyn girl whose testimony sent her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. She is the trusted friend of two threatened queens, the perfectly loyal spy for her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, and a canny survivor in the murderous court of a most dangerous king. Throughout Europe, her name is a byword for malice, jealousy, and twisted lust. Her Boleyn Inheritance: a fortune and a title, in exchange for her soul.

The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel drawn tight as a lute string about a court ruled by the gallows and three women whose positions brought them wealth, admiration, and power as well as deceit, betrayal, and terror. Once again, Philippa Gregory has brought a vanished world to life -- the whisper of a silk skirt on a stone stair, the yellow glow of candlelight illuminating a hastily written note, the murmurs of the crowd gathering on Tower Green below the newly built scaffold. In The Boleyn Inheritance Gregory is at her intelligent and page-turning best.

For someone who prides herself as an avid reader of Tudor fiction, the only novels I really ever read were related to Anne Boleyn or her daughter Elizabeth. This was my first try at reading of Henry VIII's fourth and fifth queens, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, and Anne's notoriously 'crazy' sister-in-law, Jane Rochford. Out of the gate what I enjoyed was how Gregory tied in constantly references to Anne's story, memories of her, as though she's watching it all and is still a part of the story, hence the title. So much has changed in this novel since The Other Boleyn Girl, a.k.a. the times of Anne Boleyn and yet so much has remained the same; court-life is as glamorous and fun to read about as ever, and Anne stands practically a ghost giving depth, life, and excitement to The Boleyn Inheritance.

What I did not enjoy about the novel was its speed; it moved far too quickly. Anne of Cleves arrives in England, and after that it's a blur. She's cast aside and there are good as no events of her 'reign' given. Henry VIII too soon falls in love with Katherine Howard, if you could even call it love, and in the blink of the eye they're married. It's difficult for one to believe that the story was rushed being 518 pages; however there was just not enough of Katherine's almost two-year reign, nor was there enough regarding her dramatic fall. I also disliked how after her marriage to Henry is annulled, Anne of Cleves good as disappears from the story, or whatever happens in her point-of-view chapters are insignificant. I feel as though her character is needed only briefly at the beginning when she is Queen and briefly at the end, to show what the people outside of court are hearing about Katherine Howard, and to give some sort of epilogue of how the rest of Henry VIII's life went. If this was the last of Gregory's Henry VIII related novels, I think she could have expanded on Catherine Parr's own 'Boleyn inheritance'.

I definitely had my issues with The Boleyn Inheritance but there is no denying that Gregory's writing is tasteful and engaging as ever and her talents at bringing together history and romance continue to shine. I can't say that I would recommend this as a necessary Tudor read, but it's a fun adventure through Henry VIII's wives, court, and times and a novel worth reading.

Statistics
Pages: 518
Publisher: Touchstone
Year Published: 2006
Kylie's Rating: ♛♛♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (3/5 Stars)

Book Review: The Virgin's Lover

As a new queen, Elizabeth faces two great dangers: the French invasion of Scotland, which threatens to put Mary Queen of Scots on her throne, and her passion for the convicted traitor Robert Dudley.
But Dudley is already married, and his devoted wife Amy will never give him up, least of all to an upstart Protestant Princess. She refuses to set her beloved husband free to marry the queen; but she cannot prevent him from becoming the favorite and the focus of the feverishly plotting, pleasure seeking court.

Others too oppose the marriage, but for very different reasons. William Cecil, the queen's wisest counselor, knows she must marry for policy; her uncle hates Dudley and swears he will be murder him first. Behind the triangle of lovers, the factions take up their places: the Protestants, the priests, the assassins, the diplomats and the moneymakers. The very coin of England is shaved and clipped to nothing as Elizabeth uncertainly leads her bankrupt country into a war that no-one thinks can be won. Then someone acts in secret, and for Elizabeth, Dudley and the emerging kingdom, nothing will be as planned.

Blending historical fact with contemporary rumor, Philippa Gregory has created a dark and tense novel of Tudor times, which casts Elizabeth I in a light no one has suggested before. Passionate, fearful, emotionally needy, this is a queen who will stop at nothing.

This was the first novel by Philippa Gregory that I ever read, and I found it at the library whilst searching for The Other Boleyn Girl. At the time I knew little of Elizabeth's reign, and unfortunately did not take away much about it from my reading experience. The Virgin's Lover tells the complicated story of Elizabeth's relationship with Robert Dudley, her Master of Horse from a family line of traitors to the crown -- and little else save for her short war with the French involving the Scots and the difficulties of ruling a bankrupt and religiously-torn country. Elizabeth is portrayed as anything but the strong, feminist and brilliant Virgin Queen she is known as today, and is instead at twenty-five immature, flirtatious, and reliant on the guidance of counselors and the love and support of Robert Dudley. Ironically I don't have much of a problem with this, although Gregory's portrayal of Elizabeth deeply disturbs many other Tudor readers; Elizabeth had to start somewhere before becoming Gloriana.

I surprisingly had very few problems with the novel, save for one regarding its plot. From start to finish I feel as though Gregory is really just chasing the sun. There is no flow or direction, just event after event after event with a raw ending which leaves the reader feeling incomplete and unsatisfied. Overall I enjoyed The Virgin's Lover and admit to getting emotional at different parts of the book. Gregory may not always bring all the correct information, but she writes masterfully and I've never read history and romance more perfectly intertwined. I would say that this is a good start if you'd like to explore Elizabeth's long, seventy year reign.

Statistics
Pages: 448
Publisher: Touchstone
Year Published 2004
Kylie's Rating: ♛♛♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (3/5 Stars)

January 1536: What if Henry VIII had died?

Catherine of Aragon died on the eighth of January and subsequently Anne Boleyn found herself pregnant once again. But the wave of good fortune for the couple came to a conclusion when later in the month Henry VIII was unhorsed at a joust; the shock, concern, and fear Anne experienced at this news caused her to miscarry the child. The miscarriage is what will always be remembered of January 1536, despite Henry VIII almost meeting death. Had he died at the joust, the very course of history would be changed forever.

Given how Elizabeth was the couple's only child and the heir all had been forced to swear fealty to, she would be declared Queen and Anne would rule as Queen-Regent with the help of the council and her uncle the Duke of Norfolk. However, few would be be loyal to an infant-queen and even fewer to an all-powerful Queen-Regent without any royal blood. 

What we must remember is that in Spain and in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, Henry VIII had always been married to Catherine of Aragon, his marriage to Anne Boleyn counted for nothing and so to them, as oppose to Mary Tudor being the bastard, it was Elizabeth. If Henry VIII had died at the January 1536 joust, in all other parts of Europe Mary would be declared Queen of England, and Spain would probably invade and put her on the throne without much difficulty, as with Henry VIII's death England would be a wreck enough.

But alas, Catherine of Aragon's daughter or not, Mary Tudor was a woman and there had never been a Queen in her own right sitting on England's throne before. Not many would accept this, and some might argue that Henry VIII's illegitimate son by Elizabeth Blount, Henry Fitzroy, had the strongest claim to the throne. Despite allegedly fathering many bastards, Henry Fitzroy was the king's only acknowledged son, and he was also the Duke of Somerset and Richmond. His surname, Fitzroy, meant king's son; he had been christened such for a reason. 

No matter what, England would be left weak and none of the above rulers could reign without facing great opposition, leaving the nation undivided and vulnerable for attack and ruin. It is likely that under any of the above three options England would be conquered by a greater European power without trust in a stable monarch.

Breaking Down "The Other Boleyn Girl"

Given how Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl was published about eleven years ago (2001), I suppose this post is a bit late. But after a good amount of research regarding Tudor times, Anne Boleyn and her life, and Mary Boleyn and her relationships, I feel that now's as good a time as any to talk fact and fiction regarding the novel which stands today the symbol of Tudor fiction.

• The ages of Mary, Anne, and George Boleyn: Gregory sets their birth years at about 1508, 1507 and 1503. Based on a letter written by Mary's son Henry Carey, it is commonly believed that Mary was the oldest of the siblings, born between 1499 and 1500. Personally, I agree that Anne was born in about the summer of 1507 for various reasons, among these being how this year is engraved at Hever and referenced in two primary documents, though historians set her birth-year at 1501. George Boleyn's birth year is thought to be about 1504.
• The Henry VIII/Mary Boleyn affair began in 1522? False! It could have begun as early as 1519 and ended 1520, began in 1519 and ended as late as 1525, began and ended in 1520, or began in 1520 and ended as late as 1525. According to The Other Boleyn Girl, Mary was in Henry's bed till late as 1527, and an option for him still in 1528. Historically, if the affair lasted till 1525, while Mary was lying in for the birth of her son in 1526, Henry probably forgot about her upon meeting and falling for Anne, and their relationship reached its conclusion at this point. 
• Mary, Henry VIII's innocent and sexually-naive mistress? Portrayed as a timid and virginal fourteen-year-old upon becoming the king's mistress, Mary Boleyn had factually already been a mistress, and of yet another king -- the French king, Francis I. Between 1514 and 1519 Mary served as a maid to his wife, and eventually became for some time his mistress, receiving from him the nickname 'the English Mare' for he 'rode her often', and even called her a [slut] 'infamous above all'. That she was already having intercourse and by all accounts much of it pretty much disproves that she was born in 1508, which would mean that she was as young as six or seven throughout some of these affairs.
• Catherine and Henry Carey, Henry VIII's bastards? Henry did not acknowledge Mary's two children throughout her marriage to William Carey as his illegitimate daughter and son as he did with former mistress Bessie Blount, who borne him Henry Fitzroy. There is a chance that, if their relationship went through 1520-1525, that these children were his, though personally I don't believe they were, but Henry had relations with many other women who became pregnant and claimed to be the mothers of his bastards, and so given how they were not acknowledged they might just be added to the list.
• Henry disliked difficult women? Well, it was just one line toward the beginning of the novel that really bothers me to the extent that I must actually write about it. Henry was not compelled to difficult women? Initially Henry did not pay Anne much or any attention till about 1526 according to most historians, but the very reason he remained with her seven years (which may not sound like much, but in those times and for a man like him who would eventually have six wives, it's pretty incredible) struggling and fighting to wed her, beyond his desire for a son, was that she was difficult, and would not heed until she was his Queen. 

• Mary and Anne as rivals? No. There was never a time when Henry VIII loved Anne and Mary simultaneously. When he fell for Anne, there was no other woman in the world to him. Though it was not until 1527 that he was firmly hers, Henry would never sleep with another woman whilst courting Anne -- he was that enchanted. 
• Henry's 1527 letter to Clement regarding 'first affinity' indicated Anne and Mary? The letter stated that in the event of Henry's freedom from his marriage to Catherine, he might have a dispensation to contract a new marriage with any woman even in the first degree of affinity, whether the affinity was contracted by lawful or unlawful connection. By first degree of affinity, Henry means that despite how he bedded her sister, he might still be allowed to marry Anne; ironically, his reasoning for the annulment of his marriage to Catherine was for her alleged sleeping with his brother, making her his sister and thus their marriage incest. However, The Other Boleyn Girl claims that what Henry was petitioning for was permission to wife a woman he had already bedded, indicating that he might still harbor interest in wedding Mary.
• Mary Boleyn's son, potential heir? Sort of a continuation of the previous bullet, in the novel Mary's family believes that Henry might marry her upon receiving annulment as she is the mother of his alleged son Henry Carey. However, whilst kings might get lucky twisting the words of Bible verses or religious tracts, nobody on Earth could move the planets and make Henry Carey a valid heir. Firstly, there was the very large chance that in reality he was not Henry VIII's son. Next, there was the fact that Mary Boleyn was married and divorces were difficult to come by in those times. Alas, Henry VIII could not simply marry his discarded whore without facing great opposition. Anyway, without acknowledgement from Henry VIII there is no chance whatsoever that upon his death Henry Carey could ascend; there was barely a chance that Henry Fitzroy might.
• Unnatural Anne? According to The Other Boleyn Girl, maintaining her place as the king's mistress and the center of the court took an immense toll on Anne, forcing her to hide her face behind a mask of cosmetics, fall gravely ill and by night be near-to-death exhausted. However, sources describe Anne as a naturally gifted courtier, who shined by being 100% herself -- that was bold beyond what was expected or wanted for a woman, clever, and witty.
• Anne, the murderess? In The Other Boleyn Girl it is more than heavily implied that Anne used poison to inflict illness upon Mary Tudor (Henry VIII's daughter), Catherine, Fisher, that she might have killed Wolsey and even others. However, Mary Tudor was known to be frail and sickly, Wolsey had been arrested and most likely caught illness during the rough travel, and it is not recorded that any of those listed contracted illness at this time. Beyond that, whether a kind and benevolent soul or not, Anne Boleyn, like the rest of her time, was raised a devout believer in God and thus the afterlife. Life in Tudor times was centered around the afterlife, and so the real Anne Boleyn wouldn't dare to threaten her immortal soul.
• Anne, the son-stealing b*tch? Anne Boleyn is more than just a man-stealer but also a son-snatcher in The Other Boleyn Girl! Historically: In 1528/9 at the death of Mary's husband, Anne takes Henry Carey as her ward for William Carey left Mary much debt to pay due to his gambling, leaving her and her children in poverty. Anne set up a 100 pound a year pension for her sister and helped her to raise her son. In The Other Boleyn Girl: Anne gives Mary a hundred pounds a year as cruel compensation for stealing her son so that in Henry VIII's eyes, marrying Anne he will automatically have a son of Tudor blood. Well, I don't even know where to begin. Firstly, taking Henry Carey as her ward would not make Anne Boleyn his mother, and so thus he could not be a Tudor heir. Henry Carey is also recognized as but Mary's son by Henry Carey: what would Anne gain having him as her ward? Without Anne's help God knows what would have happened to Mary and her family; it's just disgusting how this great act of kindness was so twisted. In all reality Henry Carey probably wasn't so in-demand, just a deceased knight's son in the eyes of England.
• Mary, the country girl? When Mary leaves court in 1522, she finds a love for riding and the great outdoors at Hever Castle and from then on wishes solely for independence where she will not have to be reliant on family, a husband or any man and might be free; in The Other Boleyn Girl, this dream is only fueled when she is discarded by the king. While this could never be disproven it is most likely that after the death of her husband she simply continued to live off her pension and the fortunes Anne brought for the Boleyn family.
• George Boleyn in a homosexual ring with Henry VIII's other grooms? Gregory's idea that George was homosexual and in love with another courtier, Francis Weston, is built entirely off the slightest theory by Retha M. Warnicke that at his execution in 1536, his wordy speech of a thousand confessions of sins included homosexuality. Could George have been homosexual? That's definitely a possibility but it was one exploded and fictionalized in The Other Boleyn Girl.
• William Stafford, Mary's escort and lover? In The Other Boleyn Girl Mary knew William Stafford since the mid 1520s and eventually married him in about 1533. It is most likely that since they were both guests to Calais, they met in France or on board and continued to meet in England before wedding, as oppose to falling in love while he was allegedly in the service of her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk. 
• Anne was ashamed of Elizabeth? Considering the primary reason for his break from the Roman Catholic Church was for a male heir, only naturally Anne was disappointed that she borne a daughter as oppose to the coveted male heir, and if indeed she was born in 1501 and was 32 already at this time, becoming pregnant again would be difficult. However Anne was said to be in the short time she was, a loving mother, whilst in The Other Boleyn Girl she feels only shame for mothering Elizabeth crying out something along the lines of "What good is a girl?" It is believed that she is one of few queens who breastfed her child and strongly against the king's wishes. That's some tough, real love.
• Anne slept with her brother, George? Is it really all that difficult for anybody to believe that two siblings can simply be loving and close without having sex? What bothers me most is that in an interview Gregory said something along the lines of, if Anne was indeed so desperate for a son that she would seek a more potent father for it, then George would be the 'obvious choice'. It's disgusting. Anne was a woman of Christian values who feared God and was careful to keep safe her immortal soul; there is no way that she would seek another man, let alone George to get her pregnant. 
• A clemency for Anne was a 'sure thing'? In The Other Boleyn Girl, it was commonly believed by the people and Anne's family that she would receive a clemency and be sent to live in some nunnery. However, in reality, given all of the charges, though infamously fabricated, that were brought against her, she could not just simply be excused. Had the charges been less extreme meaning minus the adultery, treason in plotting his death, seducing him with the use of witchcraft, she might have had a chance at receiving clemency. But with these charges, real or not, Henry really had no choice but to condemn her. Beyond that, Henry had managed to truly, deeply convince himself of Anne's guilt and so it was easy for him to let her to die. 

Statistics

Pages: 661

Publisher: Touchstone Books

Year Published: 2001

Book Review: Doomed Queen Anne

Though born without great beauty, wealth, or title, Anne Boleyn blossomed into a captivating woman. She used her wiles to win the heart of England's most powerful man, King Henry VIII, and persuade him to defy everyone--including his own wife--to make her his new queen. But Anne's ambition was her fatal flaw. This is the true story of the girl everyone loved to hate.


It's been almost two years now since I completed this Young Adult novel which first introduced me to Anne Boleyn, now probably my hero. Meant for younger audiences, only naturally the story could not capture every element of Anne's notoriously 'mature' tale, but otherwise from start to finish all important events of her life were either told or interpreted succinctly. I loved how the character Anne and the world around her were truly brought to life; as she matures, Anne becomes more and more but a pawn to her family. It is only when she captures the heart of Henry VIII that Anne can make decisions of her own, decisions that will make or break her.

Anne is portrayed as a sharp girl of wit, elegance, and eloquence, virtuous and yet willing to break the rules; she is adventurous and seductive yet perfectly chaste, and every minute of the story she tells is one enjoyed. I would highly recommend this to one with no idea whatsoever about Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, the six wives or Tudor England in general: it's a great, simple place to start.

Statistics
Pages: 230
Publisher: Scholastic
Year Published: 2004
Kylie's Rating: ♛♛♛♛♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (5/5 stars)

Book Review: Anne of Hollywood

Skirts may be shorter now, and messages sent by iPhone, but passion, intrigue, and a lust for power don’t change. National bestselling author Carol Wolper spins a mesmerizing tale of a twenty-first-century Anne Boleyn.

Wily, intelligent, and seductive, with a dark beauty that stands out among the curvy California beach blondes, Anne attracts the attention of Henry Tudor, the handsome corporate mogul who reigns in Hollywood. Every starlet, socialite, and shark wants a piece of Henry, but he only wants Anne. The question is: can she keep him?

Welcome to a privileged world where hidden motives abound, everyone has something to sell, and safe havens don’t exist. With her older sister Mary, a pathetic example of a royal has-been, Anne schemes to win her beloved Henry in the only way that gives a promise of forever—marriage. Success will mean contending with backstabbing “friends,” Henry’s furious ex-wife, and the machinations of her own ambitious family, and staying married to a man who has more options than most and less guilt than is good for either of them will take all her skill. Anne will do anything to hold on to the man—and the lifestyle—she adores, however, even if sticking your neck out in Hollywood means risking far worse than a broken heart. With Henry’s closest confidante scheming against her, and another beautiful contender waiting in the wings, Anne is fighting for her life. Can she muster the charm and wit to pull off her very own Hollywood ending?

The story of Anne Boleyn, the second wife who drove Henry VIII to cast a daughter, a wife of almost thirty years, and a religion aside, mothered Elizabeth I and lost her head is one of history's most commonly told tales, recreated at least once a year in the form of a novel. An avid fan of Anne Boleyn and fictional works of her, I've searched and searched and believe me: I haven't found another like this. If you think about it, the ruthless and amorous court of Tudor England shares a lot with 2012 Hollywood, which Wolper sharply describes as "high school with money". Ripe with scandal, dry and harsh Hollywood humor, and steamy sex, sixteenth-century characters are brilliantly reborn into the modern world.

In Wolper's Anne of Hollywood, there is no such thing as a traditional black-and-white relationship-- and if there is you can bet that infidelity will follow soon. Henry and Anne get together fast: a bit too fast, though, if you asked me. They are already a pair at the novel's beginning, and are living under the same roof within a couple of chapters with Anne pregnant by the hundredth page. If their historical relationship is famous for one thing, it would be the difficulties -- a divorce, a church, harsh politics -- the couple face for a decade before at last Anne decides to 'lie down'. On the positive side, I thoroughly enjoyed how Wolper described again and again Anne and Henry's union as a partnership of two witty and adventurous equals. But beyond the Henry and Anne relationship, I could have gone for a bolder Anne, the one history remembers as fearless and bold of tongue, brilliant, witty, independent -- Anne definitely had her moments, shot some serious zingers once in a while, but I don't feel that Anne Boleyn shone through quite enough.

Drugs. Threesomes. Hard partying. Dangerous Hollywood plots. Sex and deception. Did I enjoy the novel? Definitely! It was unique, clever, packed with witty humor, drama, passion, politics, and brought Anne's story to modern civilization. Wolper has this smart, creative style that I doubt any reader could resist: celebrities and partying meet Tudor court and deadly conspiracies -- quite frankly, who could?

Statistics
Pages: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Year: 2012
Kylie's Rating: ♛♛♛♛/♛♛♛♛♛ (4.5/5 Stars)