Susan Bordo - The Creation of Anne Boleyn

Book Review written & read live on the bookshow by Maggie Perkovic 18th Sept 2014

I have always been a great fan of Anne Boleyn.I felt she had a poor press over
the years and her decision to marry Henry VIII was certainly not her plan when she first
came back to this country from France as she fell for Harry Percy. However although
he felt the same about her, he was already precontracted to Mary Talbot and the
arrangement was considered binding, so he returned to Cumbria and she was left
bereft. Henry VIII decided to woo her, and unlike a lot pf ladies at Court Anne was
not disposed to be a mistress or the like so he realised that he must try to
divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne. Not so simple as he thought. The
whole process took over seven years and necessitated leaving the Catholic church
and Henry being in place of the Pope!!!Susan Bordo has written a very interesting
book with the early pages devoted to quite intensive research which actually shpws
that although Henry and Anne were not quite as happy as at the beginning of
their marriage he was still preparing to take her to France right up to April
before her arrest. Cromwell was the force apparently finding out about her so
called adultery, his reasons being he knew Henry was turning his fancy to
Jane Seymour and he was a fan of Wolsey and blamed her for his fall from power.
The author spends too much time on discussing the series on TV, The Tudors and
others such plus books and films.I didn't realise there was a society that studies
Anne Boleyn and several organisations meet to talk about her and her life!!
I did enjoy he book even though, being American her spelling and phrasing
confuse me, but I felt her summing up of Anne as a woman born out of her time
and a feminist before they were even thought of very fair.
Interesting read, but you have to be a Anne Boleyn fan to really enjoy it. Maggie Perkovic.