Anne Boleyn

by Norah Lofts

First published 1979

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4.0(1,264)

Norah Lofts reconstructs Anne Boleyn’s life from her family background and continental education through her return to the English court, Henry VIII’s long pursuit and the political crisis surrounding the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Anne’s rise is placed within the competing interests of the Boleyn family, Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, reform-minded clergy and a monarchy increasingly determined to control its own dynastic and ecclesiastical future.
The biography follows Anne’s marriage, coronation, pregnancies and brief queenship before the rapid destruction of her position in 1536. Lofts examines the evidence behind accusations of adultery and treason while also considering Anne’s religious interests, patronage and importance as the mother of Elizabeth I. The book treats her neither simply as victim nor schemer, but as a politically consequential woman whose fate became inseparable from Henry VIII’s break with Rome.

Historical Periods

Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn1527–1536

Genres

Political History

Historical people

Henry VIII1491–1547 Catherine of Aragon1485–1536 Anne Boleyn1501–1536 Thomas Wolsey1473–1530 Thomas Cromwell1485–1540 Elizabeth I1533–1603 Thomas Cranmer1489–1556