Hunting the falcon Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and the marriage that shook Europe

Husband-and-wife authors John Guy and Julia Fox have produced the most comprehensive account to date of the relationship between Henry VIII and his second queen. The first ten chapters are a dual biography, which is necessary before readers see Henry struck by the "dart of love," probably in 1526. Despite the gaps in the record--only one of Anne's love letters to Henry has survived--other correspondence and contemporaneous documents often allow them to speak for themselves. This results in an enthralling, layered narrative of how Anne gained and lost her obsessive devotion of the volatile monarch. Unfortunately the authors' approach results in some difficulties: there is relatively little analysis and some important issues receive scant attention. Although readers learn much about Anne's religious ideas and the Devonshire Manuscript, Guy and Fox appear to be agnostic regarding the question of whether Anne was actually guilty of the charges of adultery and incest for which she was ultimately condemned to die. Concerning the issue of whether Anne ever loved Henry, the authors seem more certain (she did not). Color illustrations and genealogies enhance the text, and useful appendixes address Anne's birthdate, her years in France, and evidence used at her trial. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. --Douglas R. Bisson, Belmont University

Fox (Sister Queens) and award-winning historian Guy (Queen of Scots) chronicle the tempestuous and passionate relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII succeeded to the throne after the death of his elder brother, then fell in love with his brother's widow, Katherine of Aragon, and married her. Their marriage, a happy one at first, deteriorated, and Henry took on mistresses. Boleyn, known to be smart, pretty, and a skilled dancer, eventually became one of Queen Katherine's ladies-in-waiting. The book shows that Henry moved heaven and earth to marry Boleyn, casting aside his first wife, breaking with the Church, and ultimately establishing the Church of England. The authors stress Boleyn's influence and shrewdness and note that Henry had seriously thought of making her joint sovereign. The book portrays their marriage as multilayered and dynamic. But eventually, their marriage collapsed, and the book delves into the myriad reasons for it. The book's bibliography of printed primary sources for further reading is quite useful. VERDICT An intriguing, thought-provoking, extensively researched look at the marriage that impacted and changed history. Readers interested in the history of the Tudors will be especially drawn to this book.--Lucy Heckman

Sympathetic new look at Henry VIII's second wife, her ambition to share power, and her impact on international relations. Historians Guy and Fox cite new sources and heightened interest in Anne Boleyn as the reasons for another examination of her brief life. The authors offer more nuance than the traditional view of Anne as a scheming temptress who would not sleep with Henry until he arranged the divorce from Catherine of Aragon and married her. Anne hailed from an upwardly mobile clan: Her father, Thomas, a leading diplomat, "had no scruples about using his children to achieve wealth and power for the family," and younger brother George held key, lucrative positions in Henry's court. Anne was schooled in France as a teenager, serving as one of the demoiselles of Francis I's wife Queen Claude. When she returned to serve Queen Catherine, Anne was considered a Francophile with decidedly French manners and customs. This would not serve to her benefit at the English court as Britain inched toward alliance with the Hapsburg emperor Charles. When a son by Catherine was not forthcoming, and after an affair with Anne's older sister, Mary, Henry decided on slim, lively Anne as the "love of his life." She managed to hold him at bay until he broke with Rome in 1534, becoming an increasingly divisive figure at court as the long, winding negotiations over his divorce dragged on. Anne "envisaged a mouldbreaking role for herself" as Henry's co-regnant, but competition and jealousy undermined her. Still, write the authors, she "would enlarge the role of queen," before her failure to produce a son led the insecure Henry to demand that Thomas Cromwell supply ammunition to rid himself of her. Though she died young, Guy and Fox hail Anne as a woman "exercising authority in a deeply patriarchal world," and "she stands proudly in the pantheon of history alongside her daughter, Elizabeth." A tragic historical tale delineated with admirable elucidation. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.