Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History by Tracy Borman (Review #35)

Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History by Tracy Borman

Blurb

Anne Boleyn is a subject of enduring fascination. By far the most famous of Henry VIII’s six wives, she has inspired books, documentaries and films, and is the subject of intense debate even today, almost 500 years after her violent death. For the most part, she is considered in the context of her relationship with Tudor England’s much-married monarch. Dramatic though this story is, of even greater interest – and significance – is the relationship between Anne and her daughter, the future Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth was less than three years old when her mother was executed. Given that she could have held precious few memories of Anne, it is often assumed that her mother exerted little influence over her.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Elizabeth knew that she had to be discreet about Anne, but there is compelling evidence that her mother had a profound impact on her character, beliefs and reign. Anne’s radical religious views shaped those of her daughter, and as a woman who wielded power over a male-dominated court, she provided an inspiring role model for Elizabeth’s queenship. Even during Henry’s lifetime, Elizabeth dared to express her sympathy for her late mother by secretly wearing Anne’s famous ‘A’ pendant when she sat for a painting with her father and siblings.

Piecing together evidence from original documents and artefacts, this book tells the fascinating, often surprising story of Anne Boleyn’s relationship with, and influence over her daughter Elizabeth. In so doing, it sheds new light on two of the most famous women in history and how they changed England forever.

Review

I have always loved Tudor history and Elizabeth I is my favourite monarch from history so when I saw this book I was intrigued to read it. It was also my first Tracy Borman book and it definitely won’t be my last. 

The thing I loved about this was how Borman had such a fresh and different take on Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I. Usually history books keep them quite separate but Borman has their two histories running together. Even though Anne Boleyn was executed when Elizabeth I was only 3 years old, Borman shows how Elizabeth I was influenced by her mother through all of her life and reign. 

Borman pieces together historical evidence from surviving letters, documents, paintings, books and more showing the link between mother and daughter. Borman takes us right from Anne Boleyn’s birth to her death and the same for Elizabeth I.

The other thing I liked about Borman’s take on the evidence is that it felt so truthful and not sugar coated. So many history books either describe Anne Boleyn as an angel who was severally wronged or as an evil woman who deserved her fate. However, Borman shows Anne from all angles. She shows Anne’s faults, her character flaws, her lack of restraint and all her good points. We know that Anne Boleyn was wrongly accused and executed but Borman paints her as a real person and not a saint, which I liked. 

The only reason this book didn’t receive the full 5 out of 5 dragons, but only 4, was because it just felt a bit dry at times. It felt like a big list of events and lost the feeling that other historians put into their books which I missed. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it very interesting. 

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About the author

Tracy Borman, PhD, FRHistS, FSA is a historian and author from Scothern, United Kingdom. She is most widely known as the author of Elizabeth’s Women.

Borman was born and brought up in the village of Scothern, England near Lincoln. She was educated at Scothern Primary School (now Ellison Boulters School), William Farr School, Welton, and Yarborough School, Lincoln. She taught history at the University of Hull, where she was awarded a Ph.D in 1997. Elizabeth’s Women was serialized and became a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week in September 2009. Tracy Borman appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, also in September 2009

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