Customer Reviews

Mistress Anne

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

While this book was a good source of information on Anne Boleyn's world, the facts given about Anne herself were sketchy at best. In spite of fascinating details such as descriptions of the French court where Anne grew up and the accounts of the court procedures of Henry VIII's divorce from Katharine of Aragon, one never really gets the feel of Anne as a real person. The lack of information about Anne's day-to-day life is one reason for this, but the fact remains that this is simply not one of Erickson's best biographies.

Enjoy this book, but read Antonia Fraser's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" for a truer portrait of Anne Boleyn.

I bought a number of Carolly Erickson's Tudor biographies with a gift certificate; I hope that the others impress me more than "Mistress Anne" did. Miss Erickson uses about six main sources and quotes endlessly from them--the number of quotation marks on each page grows tiresome--which is a sure sign of lazy writing. The picture section in the middle, for some reason, includes pictures of Catherine Parr and Mary Queen of Scots--important figures in Tudor history, to be sure, but, historically, they didn't even show up until after Anne Boleyn's death; and they appear nowhere in the book, as well! Talk about sloppy! I was completely unimpressed with this 'pop history' of Anne Boleyn, but plan on reading the other biographies I purchased. If I'm happier with the others, maybe I'll post a more positive review of one of them.

Erickson's avowed practice of giving equal weight to each part of a subject's life, rather than concentrating on the period when the subject was "famous," causes two major problems this time. First, there is (or was at the time of Erickson's work) little or no documentation of Anne Boleyn's early life; thus, for much of the book we are repeatedly confronted with statements of how Anne "must have" felt, reacted, behaved, etc. Second, the short period in which Anne strutted upon the world stage skims by far too quickly, with too little detail. True, Anne "must have" felt that way about events herself -- but surely the benefit of time and perspective is that we can linger and delve into the subject. Perhaps it is impossible to write a really adequate biography of Anne Boleyn.

In a manner which I have found unfortunately typical of Carolly Erickson's writing, "Mistress Anne" contains many details about court life (including "trivia" not typical of books on the subject), yet not enough about Anne herself. The rather rambling references to, for example, Anne's days at the French court became tedious. My impression was of a collection of material which could be interesting in a "classroom lecture" setting, where it is assumed that the hearers are studying the entire era and would enjoy tidbits not found in their textbooks, but which makes boring reading on its own.

While Mistress Anne is interesting in the way a novel is interesting, I would not recommend it if you are seriously researching either Anne Boleyn or Henry VIII. Rather, I would point you *TO* Alison Weir's "Six Wives" which is both well-written and meticulously detailed, and *AWAY* from Retha Warnicke's "Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn" (pretentiously, ponderously written, hard to follow, containing some conclusions that are neither fully supported by the facts, nor arrived at by other historians). While Mistress Anne is "fun" -- I fully recommend it for a "good read" -- it does not detail events satisfactorily. Dates are missing in an excessive number of instances, and some events are presented out of chronological order, causing some confusion. However, like I said, it's great fun to read and gives you a good overview of the subject.

this book although alot longer than the brief paragraphs i've read about Anne Boleyn,doesn't give alot of new info.One interesting interpretation presented though seems to indicate that Henry the 8th may not have wanted Anne executed but more pushed aside as he had previously done with Queen Catherine. Erickson gives a strong case that the execution of Anne may have been pushed forward by Henry's advisors who were afraid of Anne's influence over the king.It seems by this book that the Archbishop of Canterbury,Thomas Cranmer and the king's right hand man,Thomas Cromwell,wanted Anne Boleyn and her friends and family at court out of the picture(permanently). This way there would be no way the Boleyn's could reenter the picture with a bigger hand.One of the lessons of the Wars of the Roses was that too often leaving political enemies to "lick their wounds"was a certain way to lose one's head (on the block)!The Boleyn family had spent about twenty years living in the French court at Paris when relations between France and England were a scant better,Anne's father was a French diplomat for Henry the 8th.It seems the English public believed Anne had picked up some permiscuous habits during her years there and craftily used them to entice and capture Henry's heart.Whether it was true or not didn't matter,and given this Anne was off on the wrong foot right from the start.Not to mention she had supplanted the popular Queen Catharine. One slip by the Boleyn's and it wouldn't be hard to imagine the consequences,both the"man (or woman)in the street and the king's advisors against the Boleyn's from the outset.The book emphasized the family of Anne Boleyn and their rise and fall in Henry's capricious court.A dangerous place to be. Another interesting part of the book deals with how the women of the king's court would make themselves desirable to capture the men's favor.It actually seems they treated their skin with mercury and white lead to give themselves that"wasted by amours" look.Looking good for a few brief years was more important than a long life for them. Beneath all the pomp and jollity of Henry's court there were alot of corpses."Great Harry" comes off as an almost certain mean spirited alcoholic covered with a thin veneer of hospitality and hardy har-har.The Boleyn's according to what I read from Erickson's book knew the stakes they were playing and overestimated their ability to "thrive and survive". Primary sources in regard to the Boleyn's are rare,and i'll bet Henry's "buddies" had alot to do with it so we'll never know the complete story but this book is about as good as will ever be found.The assertion about Anne's lose morals by Henry were probably not true but a classic case of pointing the finger,that is three pointing back at the lecherous Henry.

This is a fine popular history book; not a weighty scholarly tome. The older hardcover that I own had a good bibliography. It's not haliographic - Anne is portrayed as an ambitious woman who did whatever she had to do to be and stay queen; but Henry VIII come out of it as the Mouldwarp (the devouring monster) so he gets worse than she does.

I started reading this book at the same time I was reading another biography of Anne Boleyn(eric ives) and the difference is striking. I confess that I didn't finish Carolly Erickson's attempt. That's how utterly I disliked it. This is popular history at it's lowest, full of clichés and stereotypes with Anne a sex pot on the loose in Henry VIII's England.
Do not read this book if you want to get a clear, complete and true image of Anne Boleyn.

You remember that old mnemotic device on remembering the six wives of Henry VIII? Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Anne Boleyn was the first of his two wives who died at the Tower of London being beheaded at the cruel King Hal's order.
Anne was raised in France where she served as a lady in waiting to Henry's sister Mary who had married the aged French monarch. Anne's sister Mary was known as the English whore bedding King Francis and several other noblemen.
Upon her return to England she became a lady in waiting to Henry's Spanish Queen Katherine of Aragon. Katherine had produced no sons for Henry's dynastic needs but had given birth to Princess Mary (later to become Queen). Katherine was related to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and was a staunch defender of Roman Catholicism and the Pope Clement VII.
Henry wished to divorce her since he believed he was guilty of the sin of marrying his brother's widow. His brother was the Prince of Wales Arthur who died aftere only five months of wedlock to Katherine. Henry was a strong, tall, athletic, musical and amorous monarch with keen intelligence and unbridled energy.
Henry broke from Rome since the papacy refused to grant him an annulment of his marriage to Katherine. He married Anne who gave birth to their daughter the future Queen Elizabeth I. Anne failed to have a male child so following the death of Katherine of Aragon he divorced her. Anne was accused of adultery and witchcraft in her seduction of the king. Anne was arrogant and vindictive desiring the deaths of Katherine and Princess Mary so her daughter Elizabeth could one day reign over England. Anne and her brother were executed in May, 1536.
Erickson gives a balanced view of Anne noting her defects of character and showing how she seduced the tyrant Henry. The book is slow reading for those expecting a fast paced story. It is interesting to learn more about Anne, Henry, Cardinal Wolsley, Thomas Cromwell and Katherine of Aragon which makes Tudor history a joy to study.
The book is not spectacular but is well written and historically accurate. It is not the most thrilling biography you will read but it is solid and worth your time.

I was doing a report on the life of Anne Boleyn, and this was the only book in my school library that was dedicated solely to Anne... I read it and I was unsatisfied :| It was really vague, and the book only brushed the surface of the iceberg. I had to refer to various sources to find more information... this gave too little. I would recommend Antonia Fraser's Six Wives of Henry the VIII instead...