{"id":2206,"date":"2018-11-08T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T13:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=2206"},"modified":"2019-04-03T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T17:05:50","slug":"review-kings-obsession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/review-kings-obsession\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession<\/em><\/a><\/h2>\n

by Alison Weir<\/p>\n

\"AnneSeries:\u00a0<\/strong>Six Tudor Queens, Book 2
\nGenres:<\/strong> Historical Fiction, Tudor England, Royalty
\nRelease Date:<\/strong>\u00a0May 16, 2017
\nPages:<\/strong>\u00a0572
\nPurchase from:<\/strong> Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Barnes & Noble<\/a>
\nMy Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

Born into a noble English family, Anne is barely a teenager when she is sent from her family\u2019s Hever Castle to serve at the royal court of the Netherlands. This strategic move on the part of her opportunistic father also becomes a chance for the girl to grow and discover herself. There, and later in France, Anne thrives, preferring to absorb the works of progressive writers rather than participate in courtly flirtations. She also begins to understand the inequalities and indignities suffered by her gender.<\/p>\n

Anne isn\u2019t completely inured to the longings of the heart, but her powerful family has ambitious plans for her future that override any wishes of her own. When the King of England himself, Henry VIII, asks Anne to be his mistress, she spurns his advances\u2014reminding him that he is a married man who has already conducted an affair with her sister, Mary. Anne\u2019s rejection only intensifies Henry\u2019s pursuit, but in the absence of a male heir\u2014and given an aging Queen Katherine\u2014the opportunity to elevate and protect the Boleyn family, and to exact vengeance on her envious detractors, is too tempting for Anne to resist, even as it proves to be her undoing.<\/p>\n

While history tells of how Anne Boleyn died, this compelling new novel reveals how fully she lived.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Review<\/h2>\n

Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession<\/em> (ABAKO<\/em>) was an interesting read, albeit a bit dry at times. Ms. Weir portrayed some characters very differently than I’ve previously read, including Mary Boleyn and Henry Percy.<\/p>\n

On the thread of characters portrayed differently, I didn’t particularly enjoy George Boleyn being so vilified. I wonder what evidence, if any, there is to support the misdeeds attributed to him in\u00a0ABAKO<\/em> beyond his vague execution speech.<\/p>\n

I’ve never read anything about Anne’s older brothers before, and had no idea they existed. However, according to this article<\/a> by Ms. Weir, there is some evidence that they existed. I guess they simply don’t have enough of an impact on history to bother mentioning in the books I’ve read.<\/p>\n

The Henry Norris\/Anne Boleyn romance was new to me as well. However, it seems to be purely conjecture on Ms. Weir’s part, although she bases it on a comment from Anne Boleyn which may indicate Anne loved someone other than her husband.<\/p>\n

As a side note, but irrelevant to my rating, I wish the Author’s Note at the end would have contained more actual information rather than references to Ms. Wier’s other books. As an author, I can appreciate the tactic to drive readers to her other books. However, as a reader, I’d rather be provided a summary of the pertinent information rather than be sent on a scavenger hunt through an entire other book to find it.<\/p>\n

I generally enjoyed\u00a0ABAKO<\/em>, although it didn’t drag me in as so many other Tudor historical fiction novels have in the past. I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it, but I think you’d enjoy it most if you’re a fan of Tudor history or Anne Boleyn.<\/p>\n

\n

About the Author<\/h2>\n

Alison Weir is a British writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens. She currently lives in Surrey, England, with her two children.<\/p>\n

Before becoming an author, Weir worked as a teacher of children with special needs. She received her formal training in history at teacher training college.<\/p>\n

Author links:\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Goodreads<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Disclaimer: This review is based on an eBook I purchased from Amazon on July 5, 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Check out my review of Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession, book two of the Six Tudor Queens series by Alison Weir.<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingReview – Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[87,105,71,39,156,160],"class_list":["post-2206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-blogger","tag-4star","tag-adult","tag-book-review","tag-books","tag-historical-fiction","tag-tudor","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-zA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12814,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/review-ab-500\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":0},"title":"Review – Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies","author":"Rachel","date":"June 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cI heartily recommend [it], it's a worthwhile read.\u201d Check out my review of *Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies* by Hayley Nolan.","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blogger"","block_context":{"text":"Book Blogger","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/book-blogger\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Book Cover: Anne Boleyn: 500 years of lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AB500-100x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":137,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/friday-reads-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":1},"title":"Friday Reads #3: The Creation of Anne Boleyn","author":"Rachel","date":"August 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s Friday, which means it\u2019s time for another installment of my Friday Reads series; setting you up for a great weekend of reading. This week\u2019s book is The Creation of Anne Boleyn by Susan Bordo. I\u2019ve been interested in Tudor England since I discovered The Royal Diaries series as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blogger"","block_context":{"text":"Book Blogger","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/book-blogger\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of The Creation of Anne Boleyn","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15814396._UY475_SS475_.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5101,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/review-fatal-throne\/","url_meta":{"origin":2206,"position":2},"title":"Review – Fatal Throne","author":"Rachel","date":"July 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Fatal Throne is great, and well worth a read.\"\u00a0Check out my review of *Fatal Throne* by Candace Fleming, M.T. 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