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The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII (Canto)
 
 
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The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn: Family Politics at the Court of Henry VIII (Canto) (Paperback)

by Retha M. Warnicke (Author) "In 1509 just before his eighteenth birthday, Henry VIII became king of England ..." (more)
2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 338 pages
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press; New edition edition (26 Jul 1991)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0521406773
  • ISBN-13: 978-0521406772
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 277,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #42 in  Books > History > Britain & Ireland > British Heads of State > Henry V
    #44 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Countries & Regions > Europe > Western Europe
    #45 in  Books > Biography > British Royalty > Henry VIII

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Product Description

Review

‘… succeeds triumphantly … this is an intriguing thesis, and Warnicke develops it with erudition.’ The Observer

‘The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn … an excellent book, clears away various misapprehensions.’ The Times Higher Education Supplement


Product Description

The events which led to the execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second queen, in 1536 have traditionally been explained by historians in terms of a factional conspiracy masterminded by Henry’s minister Thomas Cromwell. Retha Warnicke’s fascinating and controversial reinterpretation focuses instead on the sexual intrigues and family politics pervading the court, offering a new explanation of Anne’s fall. The picture which emerges - placing Anne’s life in the context of social and religious values, and superstitions about witches and the birth of deformed children - changes our perception of her role within the court, and suggests that her execution (occurring only four months after a miscarriage) was the tragic consequence of Henry’s profound concern about the continuation of the Tudor dynasty.
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In 1509 just before his eighteenth birthday, Henry VIII became king of England. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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2.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting theories but lacking historical foundation, 3 Oct 2001
By A Customer
Warnicke presents some interesting alternative theses, although adhering to the generally accepted view that Anne Boleyn was not guilty of the adultery charges. It is a well-written and readable account, however a number of her hypotheses - particularly in relation to Viscount Rochford, and one of Queen Anne's micarriages - are based on scant (perhaps even non-existent) evidence, and have since been discredited by other scholars. Furthermore, at times it reads very much like an American 20th century reconstruction, without examining events in their contemporary context. It is certainly worth a look for those with a good knowledge of the area, and who are interested in comparing the various historians' interpretations of the events of 1536. However for those relatively new to this period, it is not a good starting point - I would recommend Antonia Fraser's "Six Wives of Henry VIII" as a better introduction
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Certainly intriguing, 22 Nov 2003
There is no denying that Professor Warnicke's book has an almost revolutionary outlook on both the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. The key areas in which Warnicke's thesis challenges conventional historical opinion on Anne Boleyn's life are on the subjects of her date of birth, physical appearance and fall from power.

It has to be said that for the first part of the book, Warnicke is remarkably successful. She convincingly demonstrates that the current historical belief that Anne Boleyn was born sometime around 1501 is incorrect, and that the more likely date is 1507. Similarly, few can dispute her arguments that refute the age-old rumours of certain deformities (namely the infamous sixth finger/extra nail and warts.) However, it is in her assessment of Anne Boleyn's demise that Professor Warnicke disappoints.

Her entire thesis is based on the assumption that Anne Boleyn gave birth to a deformed foetus in early 1536, something that led to her arrest on charges of witchcraft, incest and adultery in May of that year. She also alleges that the men arrested with her were known homosexuals, something that allowed their 16th-century contemporaries to accuse them of gross sexual indecency. However, there is almost no evidence at all that Anne Boleyn's "lovers" were homosexuals, indeed some of them were active womanisers. The evidence for the deformed foetus idea is also disappointingly scarce, and Warnicke bases much of her idea on 'ifs' and a kind of 'if A happened, then B,C,D and E must also have happened' mentality, often disregarding evidence that she finds inconvienient. She latches onto a comment made in the virulently anti-Boleyn work of Nicolas Sander, who Warnicke spent the rest of her book discrediting (and very convincingly, it has to be said.) Therefore, it seems utterly ludicrous that she should suddenly place such emphasis on his comments that alleged Anne Boleyn gave birth to a "shapeless mass" in January 1536.

Other areas of the book are disappointing. It is at times dry and ponderously academic. Warnicke also fails to place enough emphasis on Anne Boleyn's role in religion and instead focuses on "harem politics" at the king's court, whilst ignoring the wider socio-economic impact of the king's marriage.

Nonetheless, despite these draw-backs, Warnicke's work on the rise of Anne Boleyn should be commended - even if her work on the fall remains seriously questionable.

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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Review of Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn, 4 Sep 2004
By A Customer
I bought this book and I really didn't like it. It goes against everything that I have read from other books and what I myself personally believe. For example, the 1507 birthdate is completely wrong in my opinion-what Retha Warnicke presents as evidence is a letter written by Anne from Margaret of Austria's court. In her opinion the fact that the letter has bad spelling mistakes obviously means that a child of seven wrote it and not a young woman of 14. She does not make allowances for the fact that at this time Anne was still learning the language, and would make mistakes. The handwriting of the letter confirms in my opinion that it was written by a young woman not a child.
She also asks us to believe that Anne became the accomplished courtier she was whilst still in the nursery.
Retha Warnicke also asks us to believe that a deformed foetus was the reason Anne was disposed of and that Anne and Cromwell were never in alliance. Other biographies I have read completely contradict this fact.
I could recommend better books about the life of Anne Boleyn, Eric Ives "The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn: The Most Happy" is one of the best I have read. Don't buy this if you are new to the period-it will mislead you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Controversial, readable and provocative
This is undoubtedly a controversial book and one which has split its readers (both academic and popular) but for that very reason is worth reading. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Roman Clodia

1.0 out of 5 stars A most unreadable book
This book on Anne Boleyn is has little to recommend it. The book is littered with historical inaccuracies (for example: it has now been proven that Anne WAS born in 1501 NOT 1507)... Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2006 by Chris Warne

3.0 out of 5 stars Comments
I enjoyed this book and it was interesting. The only downside to it, is that the author I felt was very bias towards Anne. Read more
Published on 14 Jul 2003 by Ms. Gayle Mcmartin

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on Anne Boleyn
This is an excellent scholarly book, well researched and eminently readable.
This offers an alternative reason for her downfall and execution - that it was her failure in... Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2002 by samanthabinnion@hotmail.com

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