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The acclaimed Tudor historian, whose book Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I was praised as “a must-read for any student of history and especially Tudor fans,” now weaves the dramatic history of the Boleyn family into a richly imagined novel of ambition, bloodlines, and the opulent and deadly court of Henry VIIIWhen nobleman Thomas Boleyn, lord of Hever Castle, is called to London in 1509 to present himself to the newly-anointed eighteen-year-old king, Henry VIII, Thomas’s young daughter, Anne, implores him not to leave. “Well, make sure the prize you bring me is worth it, Father,” Anne demands of him. “I will try,” he responds. “But I’ll wager even a crown wouldn’t satisfy you.” Such premonitions resonate convincingly throughout Tracy Borman’s rich and compelling novel. Blending the history she knows so well with the creativity of her imagination, Borman brings the Boleyn family’s three-decade rise and precipitous fall to vivid life.
Borman surrounds the main dramatic events of the Boleyn saga with a colorful tableau in which servants play key roles, familial and inter-familial rivalries threaten, and true love often loses out to keen ambition. Anne’s ever-loyal attendant Esther Frideswide, and Thomas Boleyn’s perfidious steward Robert Cranwell, are as memorable as Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, or anyone in the increasingly dangerous orbit of Henry VIII’s court, as he pursues Anne relentlessly, only to abandon and execute her and her brother when she can’t give him the son and heir he desperately seeks. Through her keen storytelling gifts, Tracy Borman vividly portrays famous historical characters in this resonant novel of family, fate, and intrigue.
About the author
Tracy Borman is Chief Historian of Historic Royal Palaces, Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, and Chancellor and Professor of Tudor History at Lincoln Bishop University. She is the author of many highly praised books, including
The Stolen Crown; Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I; Crown and Sceptre; Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him; The Private Lives of the Tudors; Thomas Cromwell; Queen of the Conqueror; Elizabeth’s Women; Witches; as well as the trilogy of novels
The King’s Witch, The Devil’s Slave, and
The Fallen Angel. Borman is also a regular broadcaster and accomplished public speaker. She was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours 2024 for services to heritage.
