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Product Description
Product Description
The scandalous true story of Mary Boleyn, infamous sister of Anne, and mistress of Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn, 'the infamous other Boleyn girl', began her court career as the mistress of the king of France. Francois I of France would later call her 'The Great Prostitute' and the slur stuck. The bete-noir of her family, Mary was married her off to a minor courtier but it was not long before she caught the eye of Henry VIII and a new affair began. Although a bright star at Henry's court, she was soon eclipsed by her highly spirited and more accomplished sister, Anne, who rapidly took her place in the king's heart. However, the ups and downs of the Boleyn sisters were far from over. Mary would emerge the sole survivor of a family torn apart by lust and ambition, and it is in Mary and her progeny that the Boleyn legacy rests.
About the Author
Josephine Wilkinson is an author and historian. She received a First from the University of Newcastle where she also read for her PhD. She has been scholar-in-residence at St Deiniol's Library, Britain's only residential library founded by the great Victorian statesman, William Gladstone. She is the author THE EARLY LOVES OF ANNE BOLEYN and of a two volume biography of Richard III, the first volume of which, RICHARD III, THE YOUNG KING TO BE, has just been published by Amberley. She also editor of the new edition of Paul Friedmann's ANNE BOLEYN ('Friedmann has an unparalleled mastery of the detail of his subject, which he weaves into a compelling and lively narrative. A meticulously researched and supremely readable classic of Tudor biography' DR RICHARD REX). She lives in York.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I asked for this for Christmas and spent most of the Day buried in it. Unfortunately, as it's short, I soon finished it...and felt I'd had an insubstantial feast for quite a lot of money, as books go.
I enjoyed it - but I would have enjoyed it more, if there had been more of it.
Josephine Wilkinson suggests that Mary Boleyn's two children, Henry and Katharine Carey, were really Henry 8th's. She offers no new evidence to back this up, that I could see, or maybe too many mince pies made me nod off during that bit. She starts to go through conception dates, so you get interested - hmm, maybe she has a point, were Mary and Henry lovers during this time? - then she stops.
There has got to be more on this somewhere, surely. Come on, comb those obscure sources, please someone! Where is the comment of a Venetian ambassador - the Daily Mail of their time when it came to a good royal gossip?
Back to the book! She could also have explored in more detail, the fact that Anne Boleyn became the Carey children's guardian. You'd think those Boleyn sisters were one big happy family from this account, but still, I'd be wild if my sis stole my posh lover, adopted my children, and I had to curtsey to her.
Mary comes over as a warm-hearted person who valued love, from her last surviving letter about why she eloped with a man who was her social inferior on the grounds that he loved her when no one else did, really. What did poor Mary do, to become so rejected by the Boleyns after her first husband died? Whatever it was, it saved Mary's neck later, so she won out.
Josephine Wilkinson writes quite a lot in the passive tense. It is a common mistake that academics make, I think. I wish she would revise and enlarge her book. It is a pretty book to have on the shelf and there is a need for more work on Mary Boleyn.
I enjoyed it - but I would have enjoyed it more, if there had been more of it.
Josephine Wilkinson suggests that Mary Boleyn's two children, Henry and Katharine Carey, were really Henry 8th's. She offers no new evidence to back this up, that I could see, or maybe too many mince pies made me nod off during that bit. She starts to go through conception dates, so you get interested - hmm, maybe she has a point, were Mary and Henry lovers during this time? - then she stops.
There has got to be more on this somewhere, surely. Come on, comb those obscure sources, please someone! Where is the comment of a Venetian ambassador - the Daily Mail of their time when it came to a good royal gossip?
Back to the book! She could also have explored in more detail, the fact that Anne Boleyn became the Carey children's guardian. You'd think those Boleyn sisters were one big happy family from this account, but still, I'd be wild if my sis stole my posh lover, adopted my children, and I had to curtsey to her.
Mary comes over as a warm-hearted person who valued love, from her last surviving letter about why she eloped with a man who was her social inferior on the grounds that he loved her when no one else did, really. What did poor Mary do, to become so rejected by the Boleyns after her first husband died? Whatever it was, it saved Mary's neck later, so she won out.
Josephine Wilkinson writes quite a lot in the passive tense. It is a common mistake that academics make, I think. I wish she would revise and enlarge her book. It is a pretty book to have on the shelf and there is a need for more work on Mary Boleyn.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Mary Boleyn - Josephine Wilkinson 4 stars `Fascinating'
This book is very short, which I thought was a shame, but I had already seen a copy in the shop and knew that it would be more of an overview. I have never been that interested in Mary Boleyn, to be honest, but I was given this book as a present and thought that I would give it a go. I am very glad that I did as I enjoyed it immensely. I particularly liked the information of Mary's time in France as, whilst there does not appear to be much information, Wilkinson provides quite a good picture of what she would have been doing and what her role was.
I was also interested in the information about Mary's marriage to William Carey and, in particular, on whether or not her children were Henry VIII's. I thought Wilkinson argued her points really well. I'm not sure if I would agree with everything she said, but I really enjoyed her arguments.
All in all, this is a really good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Tudor history. It was refreshing to read about someone who wasn't a queen or a member of the royal family for a change!
This book is very short, which I thought was a shame, but I had already seen a copy in the shop and knew that it would be more of an overview. I have never been that interested in Mary Boleyn, to be honest, but I was given this book as a present and thought that I would give it a go. I am very glad that I did as I enjoyed it immensely. I particularly liked the information of Mary's time in France as, whilst there does not appear to be much information, Wilkinson provides quite a good picture of what she would have been doing and what her role was.
I was also interested in the information about Mary's marriage to William Carey and, in particular, on whether or not her children were Henry VIII's. I thought Wilkinson argued her points really well. I'm not sure if I would agree with everything she said, but I really enjoyed her arguments.
All in all, this is a really good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Tudor history. It was refreshing to read about someone who wasn't a queen or a member of the royal family for a change!
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There seems to be a trend emerging among academic these days where they write a study of historical figures in discreet chapters instead of going for a continuous narrative. The latest book about Anne Boleyn by G.W. Bernard is a good example of this.
`Mary Boleyn: The True Story of Henry VIII's Favourite Mistress' is a study - not a biography - of Mary Boleyn, the sister of the famous Anne. Working principally from primary sources, which are critically examined, Dr Wilkinson offers descriptive and often vivid `set pieces' which illustrate various aspects of Mary's life and explore her place within her family and at court. One chapter discusses Mary's children - was Henry VIII or William Carey their father? The piece about the sweating sickness, which killed Mary's first husband and threatened her father and sister, was particularly interesting, and I liked the exploration of Mary's religious views.
I regard this book as a pleasant and interesting primer to Mary Boleyn, a good overview and introduction to this undoubtedly intriguing woman. Dr Wilkinson's writing style is fine and elegant and she is easy to read, especially for an academic (on this point, the bad typesetting in some places let her down, but since that happens once the book is out of the author's hands, I didn't deduct a star for it - why punish an author for something that was beyond her control?) However, I could not help wishing, like another reviewer, that Wilkinson would revisit this book, expand on it and turn it into a proper biography. Perhaps she was held back by the terms of her commission, who knows, but there is surely more to Mary Boleyn that is written here and it looks like we'll have to wait until Alison Weir brings out full her biography next year to find out more. In all, though, I really liked this book, I'm glad I bought it, but it is not the last word on the subject.
`Mary Boleyn: The True Story of Henry VIII's Favourite Mistress' is a study - not a biography - of Mary Boleyn, the sister of the famous Anne. Working principally from primary sources, which are critically examined, Dr Wilkinson offers descriptive and often vivid `set pieces' which illustrate various aspects of Mary's life and explore her place within her family and at court. One chapter discusses Mary's children - was Henry VIII or William Carey their father? The piece about the sweating sickness, which killed Mary's first husband and threatened her father and sister, was particularly interesting, and I liked the exploration of Mary's religious views.
I regard this book as a pleasant and interesting primer to Mary Boleyn, a good overview and introduction to this undoubtedly intriguing woman. Dr Wilkinson's writing style is fine and elegant and she is easy to read, especially for an academic (on this point, the bad typesetting in some places let her down, but since that happens once the book is out of the author's hands, I didn't deduct a star for it - why punish an author for something that was beyond her control?) However, I could not help wishing, like another reviewer, that Wilkinson would revisit this book, expand on it and turn it into a proper biography. Perhaps she was held back by the terms of her commission, who knows, but there is surely more to Mary Boleyn that is written here and it looks like we'll have to wait until Alison Weir brings out full her biography next year to find out more. In all, though, I really liked this book, I'm glad I bought it, but it is not the last word on the subject.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Loved her first book on Richard III but this was a waste of time!
Some time ago I read Josephine Wilkinson's 'Richard - The Young King To Be' and was very impressed especially as it was her debut. Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. J. Greenland
Mary Boleyn
Purchased this to learn more about Mary Boleyn, especially after having watched The Tudors and The Other Boleyn Girl. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sparkhouse
Highly readable though not specific enough...
The trouble with Mary Boleyn is that we know so very little about her. Completely eclipsed by Anne, she really was just Sir Thomas Boleyn's other daughter, her only claim to fame... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Chris Warne
Sounded good, but was sadly lacking
I love this period of history, so was pleased to find a book written about an often forgotten person. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Helen D
well researched
This was well researched and interesting. It makes the point that Mary Boleyn was Henry VIII's companion for some years - until in 1527, her sister Anne muscled in while Mary was... Read more
Published 22 months ago by cosmicelk
dissapointed
I enjoyed the book but!!!!!!!!!!!! hardly anything was mentioned about Mary, I was hoping for a detained account of her life. She has always been a person who was very elusive. Read more
Published 22 months ago by M. I. J. Tyers
Anyone and Everyone's a Historian
Can't anyone these days write a work of popular history that isn't littered with factual errors?
Wilkinson writes that when Henry VIII's sister Mary was ten, "a chance... Read more
Wilkinson writes that when Henry VIII's sister Mary was ten, "a chance... Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2009 by Judith Loriente
POOR!
As an avid reader of all books of this genre I was looking forward to this book. But I was sorely disappointed. Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2009 by A. M. Falcon
Readable - but factual??
This book is much smaller than you think at 177 pages of large type face, that was my initial thought. Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2009 by A.Chamberlain
Mary Boleyn - more than a Queen's sister or a King's lover
After the phenomenal success of the "Other Boleyn Girl" it was to be expected that a proper biography of Mary Boleyn would be written. Read more
Published on 4 July 2009 by Amelrode
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