Anne Boleyn

By: Alison Weir

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

A novel filled with fresh insights into the story of Henry VIII's second - and most infamous - wife, Anne Boleyn. The new book in the epic Six Tudor Queens series, from the acclaimed historian and best-selling author of Katherine of Aragon.

It is the spring of 1527. Henry VIII has come to Hever Castle in Kent to pay court to Anne Boleyn. He is desperate to have her. For this mirror of female perfection he will set aside his queen and all Cardinal Wolsey's plans for a dynastic French marriage.

Anne Boleyn is not so sure. She loathes Wolsey for breaking her betrothal to the Earl of Northumberland's son, Harry Percy, whom she had loved. She does not welcome the king's advances; she knows that she can never give him her heart. But hers is an opportunist family. And whether Anne is willing or not, they will risk it all to see their daughter on the throne.

©2017  Alison Weir (P)2017 Recorded Books

Very good read

This is a case of truth is stranger than fiction. You cannot make up this stuff up!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Anne's Other Side

With her uncanny ability to bring historical facts to living color, Alison has brought life and some notoriety to an otherwise overlooked character in King Henry's repertoire. Previously, I thought only of Anne as a conniving wench who used her sexuality to lure a king and displace a queen.
Fancy or fact, she has become someone of substance and conscience who let jealousy, greed, and power lead her into the sins that ultimately sealed her fate. She, perhaps inadvertently and selfishly, gave credence and fuel to the Protestant reformation and exposure to the corruption that had insidiously overtaken the church at that time.
I definitely recommend this novel and the author for great creativity, insight and intrigue.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Great but too quiet.

Great story, when I could hear it. When the story called for quiet talk, it was whispered so quietly that I could only hear it with earphones from my Kindle Keyboard. I like the narrator's voice, she did both men's and women's voices very well, just needs to be louder. I love Alison Weir's historical stories and her habit of putting the year at the beginning of each chapter.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Obsessed!

What did you like about this audiobook?

Alison Weir really brings the Tudors to life. A richly detailed biography of this ambitious, and doomed, young woman. Weir weaves in Boelyn's quest for power over love and Henry VIII's determination to make her his queen. For anyone who is obsessed with the wives of Henry VIII, this is an excellent series. I'm looking forward to the other biographies.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

I'm even more curious about the other Tudor wives and the king's descent into madness.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

The audio performance is engaging. She is able to bring to life the individual voices.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

excellent read

I was mesmerized throughout. time flew by so fast while listening to this story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not as Good as the First

I read the first book in this series, Katherine of Aragon, and I absolutely loved it. Bearing that in mind, I did not like this book nearly as much. Overall, it felt slower-paced and less interesting. While Anne was waiting for something to happen, so were the readers. I had really hoped that this novel would fill in the gaps of Katherine's story with more interesting material, but it just didn't. Honestly, once Anne won over Henry, the story got infinitely more boring. It was like all the best bits were before she moved to court.

Anne was also a much less sympathetic narrator. I specifically waited a few months before listening to this in order to rid myself of the bias that came from Katherine's story, but I still managed to dislike Anne. It almost feels to me like Alison Weird just didn't like her as much. I can't say much about this historical accuracy (since I have no clue), but this just felt biased. I couldn't place it exactly, but it was overall less enjoyable.

I still plan to read the next books in the series because I haven't read as much about Henry's other wives, and I have high hopes that they'll be better than this one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazing story, well written and performed

One of the most amazing stories in history, brought to life in well-written, historically accurate novel form. Performed EXTREMELY well. The only downside (minor) is that it is just a bit long — trimming a few scenes would not have damaged the impact of the story or the performance. Truly enjoyed.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Catherine vs Anne

I first read Catherine of Aragon and the first part of this book covered much of the same material through the eyes of Anne.
As for the debate over the morals of Anne and her sister, Mary, I have no idea of the truth in those matters, but the book was interesting and well written.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent in narration, interesting perspective

Few have dared to take on the perspective of Anne herself. Many prefer to paint her as the villain she was convicted of being, while some have acknowledged that some of the things she was accused of had to have been impossible, but the others may have been likely. Allison Weir could be criticized for taking too kind an approach, and makes Anne almost completely blameless in this version. Her worst crime, well, I’ll leave that to you discover, but it’s really not so bad. This version, too, has its arguments but it was nice to see for once. I’ve so often seen Anne Boleyn painted as selfish, conniving, manipulative, and The most grievous trait any woman could possessed, oversexed. It’s nice to for one see her portrayed simply as an honest person, manipulated by forces greater than herself, making the best she can out of a situation largely beyond her control.

Rosalyn’s narration, as ever, is pleasing and riveting. My only criticism is all of the men sound precisely the same. Beyond that, perfection.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Story and Narration!

I love the story of the Tudors and love that Alison Weir is creating books to tell the story of Henry VIII's wives. Alison is one of my favorite writers and I love the narration of Rosalyn Landor! Highly recommend and can't wait to read all in this series!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful