My motto: When in doubt, pick up a book on the Tudors. There will always be something to learn, perhaps a bit of controversy, but always the familiar and reliable history of the most famous of royal dynasties.

This book certainly examines Anne Boleyn's life from a different angle, taking the story you think you know and redefining her rise and fall as anything but a love story. Taking oft ignored or twisted pieces of evidence, the author tries to provide a more nuanced view of Anne's thought processes and how she got where she did. Likewise, she examines Henry VIII's personality and behaviour to drill down into the heart of their tempestuous relationship. And the results are quite surprising!

This is definitely not a 'sophisticated' history book. The tone and language are aimed very much at the Instagram/TikTok generation, with plenty of hashtags, eye rolls and asides. While it definitely makes the book incredibly easy to read and her arguments very digestible, if you're looking for scholarly discourse this isn't the book for you. That being said, it's not 'dumbed down' history; the narrative is compelling and concise, suggesting alternative theories and setting out the author's stall with enough detail to draw you in and give you the chance to consider what you think you know.

It's also been written in the full glare of the #MeToo movement, with the modern implications of 'no means no' being fully explored in this historical context. It doesn't ignore Anne's flaws, but does reframe some of her actions in a way that clearly shows her as a smart, sophisticated, worldly woman, rather than the scheming 'goggle-eyed whore' of old. In some ways it is fascinating to examine such a strong historical woman through this modern lens - the parallels with modern day Hollywood and other walks of life are undeniable - but at the same time I do think it is slightly unfair to impose today's sensibilities and psychology on the past, as the mindset just isn't comparable. Trying to identify someone's possible mental illness at a distance of 500 years just seems a bit odd to me, and then to hang a lot of your arguments on that diagnosis is leaving a lot of room for critique. However, I can't deny that her theories are interesting.

One thing I'm not so keen on is the bashing of other historians. There are several moments in the text where the author takes aim at comments made by other prominent historians who have perhaps framed Henry and Anne as a tragic love story. This ignores the simple fact that we are not in possession of complete evidence for the period, and what we do have is open to interpretation. Again, the modern mindset does come across quite strongly here; it's got a definite feel of 'I'm right and you're wrong' about it, which totally misses the point that history might be about 'facts', but is also open to discussion and debate. History is written by the winners, after all! So how are we meant to get an objective view of the losers? I believe that you can never read too many books on one subject. Indeed, the more books you read, the more likely you are to get closer to the truth by letting your own analytical mind compare the versions of the story. 

The author has tried to remain objective, but given the subject matter and the angle from which she's exploring the topic, I'd say objectivity is nigh on impossible to achieve. She doesn't have to explicitly state her opinions for you to be able to take a good guess at what they might be....

This book has certainly made me consider Anne and Henry in a different way and remove the sheen of stereotypes from my view. Very enjoyable.