Sarah Bryson's Reviews > Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen

I have to admit that when I first picked up this book I was a little sceptical. I have heard many things about Denny’s book on Anne Boleyn, some positive and some negative. I was not sure what to think but was determined to go into this book with an open and positive mind. I wanted to take the book for what it was and see what Denny had to say about the life of Anne Boleyn.

Unfortunately when I came to the end of the book I found myself feeling quite disappointed.
Overall when reading this book I felt as though there was a great deal of negativity towards many of the people that had been part of Anne Boleyn’s life. It is not hard to see that Denny holds little regard for Katherine of Aragon, claiming that she lied that she was a virgin. Denny believed that Katherine of Aragon did sleep with Prince Arthur and therefore the marriage was consummated. She goes on to say that Katherine of Aragon continued on with the lie of her virginity so that she could marry Henry VIII. I found that Denny repeated this idea many times throughout the book, continuously suggesting that Katherine of Aragon was a liar and also a manipulator.

It read to me as though the breakdown of Henry VIII’s relationship with his wife and Queen was all Katherine of Aragon’s fault. That it was her fault she could not give Henry any living male heirs and that certainly she was lying about having never slept with Prince Arthur. Denny also suggests that Katherine of Aragon deceived those around her and also openly humiliated Henry VIII. I find this very hard to swallow and do not for a minute think that Katherine of Aragon lied about being a virgin when she remarried. Katherine of Aragon was an extraordinarily devout Catholic and lying was a sin. To lie over and over again would certainly be damaging to one’s salvation. Denny gives Katherine of Aragon so little credit for her dedication to her faith and paints a very dark picture of a woman who was certainly a devoted and loving wife.

Denny also alludes to the fact that there was no love at all between Henry VII and his wife Elizabeth of York, and that in fact Henry VII despised his wife and her Yorkist heritage. In fact history tells us that husband and wife had strong feelings for one another and that they consoled each other deeply upon the death of their oldest son Arthur. Certainly if Henry VII hated his wife he would not want to console her and hold her as she wept over the death of their son.

Denny also shows a strong dislike for Mary Tudor, even referring to her as a spoiled brat. How she can make this statement I am unsure. She also speaks very negative words of Mary Tudor’s second husband Charles Brandon. At one point she accuses Brandon of abducting a woman named Anne Brown and having two daughters with her. History tells us that Charles Brandon was a bit of a womanizer and did have a marriage annulled, but abduction and possible rape? Where Denny got any of this information from I am unsure. Certainly Brandon did defy the King and marry Henry VIII’s sister, but he and Mary were forgiven, although made to pay a heavy fine. Charles was eventually restored to favour and was one of Henry VIII’s most treasured and beloved friends. Upon Charles Brandon’s death Henry is reported to have said that “after the king heard the stunning news, he told his courtiers that Brandon has been the best of friends, generous and loyal as well as truly magnanimous towards his political enemies. Glaring, he pointed out that few of his Council could boast the same about themselves” (Hutchinson 2005, p. 119). Certainly Charles must have had something about him to be seen in death as a good and loyal friend a clear contrast to the picture that Denny painted of Charles Brandon.

I was also quite disgusted at the way Denny wrote about Mary Boleyn. Personally I am quite fascinated by Mary Boleyn and have read and researched extensively about her life. Denny suggests that Mary was the mistress of King Francis I during her time in France and then goes on to say that she was passed on from one man to another and that she was sexually notorious. This I find to be absolute rubbish! It is certainly possible that Mary was the mistress of Francis I, for what length of time we certainly do know. But there is no proof at all to suggest that Mary was passed from one man to another, nor that she was sexually notorious! There is not a single piece of evidence to provide this, in fact the only evidence that we have that Mary had any sexual relationship while in France was a letter written by a Bishop twenty one years after Mary Boleyn was in France!

Denny also goes on to suggest that Henry VIII had taken Mary Boleyn for his mistress before Mary married William Carey. Once again there is no evidence to suggest this at all. In fact evidence would suggest that Mary married her husband in 1520 and then became Henry VIII’s mistress sometime during 1522. The suggestion that Henry VIII married Mary off to cover the affair is ridiculous! I find Denny’s blatant statements clearly shows the little research she has done on the life of Mary Boleyn and certainly for me that cast a doubt on how much research was done for the rest of this book.
I was also confused by Denny’s statement that Anne Boleyn had a stepmother. Anne did not have a step mother, in fact her mother, Elizabeth Howard, outlived Anne and died in 1538. I am confused as to where Denny got the idea that Anne’s mother died and that her father Thomas Boleyn remarried.

Overall I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. It appeared as though Denny was trying to paint Anne Boleyn as a saint and that everything that went wrong during her life was everyone else’s fault bar Anne’s. Certainly Anne was no saint; she was just as flawed as every other human being. She had a temper, she was prone to rages and bouts of jealousy, in short she was human. Although Denny provided a lot of quite detailed information about Anne and her life I felt it was overshadowed by the negative attitude towards people such as Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. I have to say that I would only recommend this book to someone who already has a strong knowledge about Henry VIII’s first marriage and all the players involved with the King’s ‘Great Matter’.