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)
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