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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining, but contrived and overwritten, January 13, 2008
This review is from: Mademoiselle Boleyn (Mass Market Paperback)
I just finished reading Robin Maxwell's latest, "Mademoiselle Boleyn." It serves as a sort of prequel to her previous book, "The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn," examining Anne's little-known years when she lived at the court of the French king, Francis I.
I have mixed feelings about the book, which I suppose fits as I have mixed feelings about the author. "Mademoiselle Boleyn" is much more interesting than other books of this type (i.e. "The Other Boleyn Girl"), mainly because it's hard to find books set in France during this period, so it doesn't feel like a sexed-up rehash of the Anne Boleyn wikipedia entry. There's lots of color and intrigue, and Maxwell, at her best, has a charming, entertaining and an enthusiastic voice.
At her worst, however, Maxwell can be sensationalistic, pandering and so in love with exclamation marks that Steinbeck would roll over in his grave. Also, her characterizations are not particularly successful. I agree in principle with her depiction of Mary Boleyn as a pretty but not particularly bright girl ultimately victimized by court politics, and her portrayal of Anne as a budding intellectual has potential (even though most of the time she comes across like an R-rated version of Drew Barrymore's character from "Ever After"). But some of their scenes are just unbelievable...
For example, King Francis gets bored with boffing Mary, and he decides he has the hots for her sister, so he tricks Anne into coming into Mary's Turkish/Indian fusion bedroom. Anne sees the king getting off on Mary and a bunch of other girls having a lesbian orgy on the bed, and she's so freaked out she runs away. The king comes on to her later, but with the help of Leonardo da Vinci she's able to figure out how to reject his Highness while remaining buddies with him. And only a few scenes later, she's shown palling around with her sister like nothing happened. Um... what?
Besides the uneven characterization, ridiculous dialogue and heavy-handed lectures on the suffering of women in the early 1500s, one of the biggest problems with the book was the language. It's wildly inconsistent, ranging from archaic words like "mayhap" to Americanisms like "ornery," "dragon lady," and girls calling each other freaks. And while I don't doubt that Ms. Maxwell did lots of research on the lives of royalty, she might want to read a bit more on daily life during that time, so she would avoid embarrassing anachronisms like Henry VIII's sister Mary getting freaky with patchouli oil, or Mary Boleyn nailing saris up on her walls.
I quite liked the author's previous novel, "To the Tower Born," so this was a disappointment to me. It was a quick read, but on the whole it felt contrived and overwritten. Maybe it's just Anne Boleyn, a subject that has shipwrecked other worthy authors. Hopefully Ms. Maxwell with have better luck with her next book.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A new take on Anne Boleyn, March 8, 2008
This review is from: Mademoiselle Boleyn (Mass Market Paperback)
"Mademoiselle Boleyn" is a very interesting novel that focuses on the early part of Anne Boleyn's life before she becomes involved with King Henry VIII and eventually ascends to the throne of England. This book begins when Anne is just a child and is sent away from her English home to be brought up at the French court. Anne quickly gains the favor of the French royals, including King Francois himself, his wife Claude, and his sister Marguerite. Life in France provides quite an education for Anne, who observes the way certain bold French women are inclined to take matters into their own hands when it comes to affairs of state and matters of the heart. Anne also learns firsthand how women are generally cast aside, as her father treats her with complete indifference and casts his eldest daughter, Mary, into the role of a sex slave to lecherous kings in hopes of advancing the Boleyn family's power. Eventually Francois takes an interest in Anne, who must do everything possible to resist the king's unwanted advances. Anne also meets and falls in love with the charming Henry Percy, and wonders if it will be possible to defy her father and marry for love.
I enjoyed this book. It depicts Anne as a bright, kind young girl who is used as a pawn by the evil men in her life, which is very different from the manipulative shrew many other writers make Anne out to be. Obviously, there are numerous historical inaccuracies in the book (like Anne and Leonardo da Vinci being BFFs), but I found "Mademoiselle Boleyn" to be thoroughly entertaining and a fresh new interpretation of the life of this infamous woman.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unforgettable tale...., November 6, 2007
This review is from: Mademoiselle Boleyn (Mass Market Paperback)
Everyone knows Anne Boleyn's tragic ending, but what of her youthful years? Robin Maxwell ties together historical facts with a bit of fiction to present Anne's blossoming from a child to a woman in MADEMOISELLE BOLEYN.
At the young age of nine, Anne and her older sister, Mary, are sent to the French court. Court life is filled with various intrigues and Anne quickly learns to maneuver her way around. The sexually promiscuous atmosphere of the French court soon overtakes Mary, but Anne is determined not to have the same fate. Torn between her friendships in the French court of Francois I and her father's insistence that she spy on the French, Anne must learn to walk a careful path or all will be lost. How will she avoid her sister's fate as Anne is starting to mature? Step inside the pages and watch as her formative years are revealed....
Before reading MADEMOISELLE BOLEYN, all I really knew about Anne Boleyn was her death by beheading. Robin Maxwell has opened my eyes to a period of history I had never really thought about. Her fascinating prose kept me riveted to the pages of this book long past my bedtime.
The descriptive imagery draws the reader into the heart of this tale, but it is Anne herself who makes it so powerful. Told through the eyes of a child, the debauchery of the French court is almost obscene. And yet, Anne continually sees the good in others despite their excesses. She is not naïve, however. Rather, Anne is a strong female and her ever growing confidence in herself is empowering and poignant, particularly against a backdrop in which women are so powerless. The comparisons between her fate and Mary's is startling poignant. Anne is not the only strong female, however, as Marguerite is herself a powerful woman. Even Claude shows great strength of character as she makes the most of a role she has been forced to take by the strictures of the time in which she lives.
Robin Maxwell infuses a passion and beauty into MADEMOISELLE BOLEYN that makes this an unforgettable tale of both heroism and the corruption of power. The note from the author at the end clarifies some of the history of the tale. The last two paragraphs left me in tears, as Anne's tale is all the more heart breaking. Kudos to Robin Maxwell for making a time period come so vividly alive.
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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