The Creation of Anne Boleyn

A New Look at England’s Most Notorious Queen

By: Susan Bordo

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 12 hrs

Publisher's summary

Part biography, part cultural history, The Creation of Anne Boleyn is a fascinating reconstruction of Anne’s life and an illuminating look at her afterlife in the popular imagination. Why is Anne so compelling? Why has she inspired such extreme reactions? What did she really look like? Was she the flaxen-haired martyr of Romantic paintings or the raven-haired seductress of twenty-first-century portrayals? (Answer: Neither.) And perhaps the most provocative questions concern Anne’s death more than her life. How could Henry order the execution of a once beloved wife? Drawing on scholarship and critical analysis, Bordo probes the complexities of one of history’s most infamous relationships.

Bordo also shows how generations of polemicists, biographers, novelists, and filmmakers imagined and re-imagined Anne: Whore, martyr, cautionary tale, proto “mean girl,” feminist icon, and everything in between. In this lively audiobook, Bordo steps off the well-trodden paths of Tudoriana to expertly tease out the human being behind the competing mythologies.

©2013 Susan Bordo (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Long live Queen Anne!

Before Showtime's the Tudors took over my Sunday's, I was a huge fan of Anne Boleyn. I became interested in her story after researching Elizabeth's lineage. I absolutely recommend this great book. Bordo brought a new and thoughtful view of Anne as we now know her, and Rosenblat, brought Anne to life!

History that nourishes the soul

Painstakingly researched, this labor of love to the doomed queen swept me away through time. Bordo manages to reach through the pages (and through Rosenblat's authoritative voice that demands not one ear but two). The cultural obsession with Anne Boleyn is well documented, and Bordo gives us a real window into Anne's life and actions through a historical lense. Comparing and contrasting versions of Queen Anne throughout history and pop culture, Bordo really goes to great lengths to deconstruct the Boleyn mythos and show Anne as the real flesh and blood woman she was.

Restful to listen to and mostly interesting

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I can't generalize

What does Barbara Rosenblat bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like her narration but her attempts at a British accent leave something to be desired

Do you think The Creation of Anne Boleyn needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Any additional comments?

This is probably the book I have listened to most in recent months but that is because I find it very restful to listen to as I fall asleep. I liked the most historical bits best but the parts analyzing what is so compelling about Anne and her story and how our take on it has changed over time are very interesting. The bits I found least enjoyable are those which discuss specific Anne portrayals in TV or Movies - probably because I have not watched The Tudors and only some of the films

Disappointing

Started off interesting but last few hours were repetitive. Author spent much time being critical of other authors. Since I am not a historian I cannot say if it was justified. Possible the reader added to the criticism by the way it was read.

Overall average .

I had high hopes for this book. Having been interested in Tudor history for many years, and having done my own research on Boleyn. I was looking forward to a book that really got behind all of the written evidence. The book showed promise. Although, after reaching the end, I returned to the first two chapters to re-listen in an attempt to discover why I felt slight disappointment, and mild irritation.
Bordo admitted that she had only been fascinated by Boleyn since 2001, which makes her a lightweight.
I had to also consider that she is very American in her assumption that "most people" don't have a grasp on the Tudors. (People of my generation studied the Tudors for an entire year at school in Britain.) These two things should have been my clues.
I mostly enjoyed the first part of the book. Although I struggled to find anything new within. I became a bit annoyed during the second part, when Bordo surprisingly forgave "The Tudors" Showtime series, admitting all of their sins of historical misguidance; partially because she'd become starstruck by Natalie Dormer, who played Boleyn; but then absolutely raked Phillipa Gregory over the coals, and held Alison Weir's feet to the flames for far lesser sins. I partially agree with her disdain for Gregory; I wasn't over keen on Gregory's take on Boleyn; except, that ironically, the comment that Bordo made, that every historical fiction writer, writes from their own time and perspective (true) was the same comment that Gregory herself made to me. Apparently, Margaret George had made that comment to Bordo, whilst doing some Gregory coal raking of her own. The irony is, that I am still raging after over a decade; over two horrible, easily researched mistakes that George made in one of her books. Mistakes of personality, happen. Major mistakes on geography verge on the unforgivable. If you don't understand a place, don't write about it.
I don't understand the modern jealousy that historical fiction writers have for each other. It's petty and dull. I was disappointed to find Bordo joining in.
This book has its moments of goodness, but never achieves greatness, and does have some low points. If you know nothing about Boleyn, you might discover some things. If you know a great deal about Boleyn, you might pick up one or two perspectives, but not enough to warrant the whole read.
However the performance was top notch! Barbara Rosenblat was never irritating.

Very engrossing

Where does The Creation of Anne Boleyn rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a very well written and researched novel. It presents a more balanced perspective of Anne Boleyn as well as how her legacy has been shaped by the culture not only of her time but of those that came after.

a fresh look at a real feminist hero!

an informative look at the real woman behind the ideology, told by a woman with a clear and sharp voice. long live this, the true Anne ❤👑

very good

loved all the information. I have need listened to a book like this! huge fan.

A biography of the *image* of Anne Boleyn

Would you listen to The Creation of Anne Boleyn again? Why?

Overall a very enjoyable listen with a narrator with a warm voice that's well-suited to the subject matter, and writing that's fresh, interesting, and amusing.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

This is less a biography of Anne Boleyn, and more a history of how her popular image has changed throughout history as a reflection of each era's social values. There's just enough reliable information available about the historical Anne to make her a captivating figure, and enough not known for any book, show, movie, or historical period to embellish her story with its own details and judgements about how a woman should behave.

interesting book, bad narration

Would you try another book from Susan Bordo and/or Barbara Rosenblat?

The story was interesting but the narration almost made me stop listening. It sounded like a robot or a man with a speech impediment and sometimes was so weird (stressing the wrong words in a sentence for instance) that I almost gave up listening.

Would you recommend The Creation of Anne Boleyn to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend people to read the book, not listen to it.

Would you be willing to try another one of Barbara Rosenblat’s performances?

Not of a non-fiction book. Perhaps she is better at drama.