Rating: 
Summary: Not thrilling but nice...
Review: One month ago I read "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gragory and got me very interested in England's history. I like reading several books on the same topic to get a clearer view of certain part of history and that's why I read this book. It is very nicely written but there are so many details I understood because I had read Gregory's book berofe. I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I didn't have had the background I had. I don't think Maxwell was able to depict Anne Boleyn's true self in this book, she was a real stubborn and spoiled-rotten woman and in this story she is viewed as a more "softer" woman.
In this book,when Queen Elizabeth I reaches England's throne, she is given a diary written by her mother (Anne Boleyn). This diary takes place from the time Anne Boleyn returns from France until one day before her death. The author found a very interesting way to describe two generations at the same time, it's Elizabeth I story AND Anne Boleyn's story.
If you are interested in reading about Henry VIII or Bloeyn Family history, try starting with "The other Boleyn Girl" first. It makes a great plataform of 14th century Enland's general history. "The secret..." is a nice complement.
Rating:
Summary: Alas, Poor Anne...
Review: As I am not a history buff or an Anglophile, my review is simply that of one who has a current fascination with Tudor England. I assume you already know most of the players and the drama, or else you'd be reading some fluffy bodice-rippers. Simply stated, this novel is a fictional account of when Elizabeth I first ascends to the throne and is given her mother's diary by a former lady-in-waiting who served the ill-fated Queen shortly before her execution.As she reads the diary, Elizabeth comes to know her mother and how she thought and loved. Always told her mother was a traitor to the crown, and knowing that her mother was much hated by what are now Elizabeth's subjects, Elizabeth reads the diary with a macrabre fascination and an emotional trepidation.
The lesson she learns is to never surrender her freedom to that of a man. This is timely, as her court is pressuring Elizabeth to marry well and soon. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and finished it in a few hours. The diction is somewhat annoying to one who is not well-versed in reading through all of the "thou's," etc. But it does not distract from the story itself. The author's depiction of Anne is somewhat stilted. She is definitely painted as a victim of men, and who's to say she wasn't? but a more balanced account would have been much appreciated. All in all, great fun and a great read for lovers of this period in history.
Rating:
Summary: Dysfunctional Royalty
Review: The recent announcement of the first public display of a ring worn by Queen Elizabeth I caught my eye. The interesting thing about the ring is a secret compartment containing a portrait of Anne Boleyn. This lent my reading of this book about the relationship between the memory of Anne Boleyn and the life of Elizabeth I a certain poignancy it might not have otherwise had. What this ring suggests is that Elizabeth treasured the memory of her mother but knew that it could not be given public expression due to the circumstances surround Anne Boleyn's death. This is pure speculation, the real reason that Elizabeth had the ring cannot be known. But this author does try to recreate the story as it might have been. I found myself reading this book not as a fictional recitation of historical events, but as the story of a dysfunctional family and how the actions of one generation affect the next. The author uses the relationship between Anne and Henry VIII to explain why Elizabeth made some of her early choices with regard to matrimony. I've seen this same theory expounded by other writers but Maxwell does a very good job by interpolating Anne Boleyn's diary entries with events in Elizabeth's life. Even if you do know the story of Elizabeth's life, this version is worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Interpretation on Anne
Review: This is written exactly as how I envisioned Anne Boleyn. Not a creature of ambition and underhandedness. History was written by men who viewed woman as insignificant and scapegoats for any tragic events. Therefore, when it was time to put Anne Boleyn on the books, it was very convenient for them to blame Anne for misguiding the Henry into the divorce and being too 'ambitious'. Ambitious being a horrible trait for a woman. Too many authors put the emphasis on how evil and conniving Anne Boleyn was. It is a common but misogynic thought. Robin Maxwell was able to steer away from this conception that women are the temptress and deserve their own downfall. I recommend this book to all readers that are tired all these conspiracies against Anne Boleyn and are interested in seeing her in a realistic interpretation.
Rating:
Summary: The Secret Diary of anne Boleyn/Robin Maxwell
Review: It was well written and researched. I enjoyed every page.
Rating:
Summary: Well done
Review: The story switches back and forth between Anne's diary and what is happening in Elizabeth's life as she reads the diary. I really liked Elizabeth's thoughts after each section of Anne's diary. This was a very readable and interesting perspective on both women.
Rating: 
Summary: bland-you'd do better to stay away
Review: I am a true blue Tudor fanatic, and I have been for several years. I first ran into this topic with a children's book by Kathryn Lasky called ELIZABETH I: RED ROSE OF THE HOUSE OF TUDOR, which is a fictional diary of Elizabeth I when she was an adolesent. Needless to say, I was absolutly THRILLED to find one written on an adult level. Maybe it was due to my extremely high expectations, but I was sorely disappointed. It painted cunning Anne as a naive little lightskirt with less-than-interesting ideas. The lion himself, King Henry VIII, was portrayed first as a skirt-chasing, dim-witted, stupid man who had a very attractive countenance. He then is all-of-a-sudden turned into a vulgar-looking, power-hungry, repulsive vilain. I found the book itself to be uninspired, gaudy, and dull. Okay, okay, it did have a few good parts, a few good laughs, and I was surprised at how well and how agreeable to my imagination Anne was in her last few days of life. All in all, however, it was a struggle to finish the book and I hope you will spend your time with more enjoyable Elizabethan mysteries (hint: TRY FIONA BUCKLEY!!!!!!!)
Rating: 
Summary: Not good!
Review: Initially, I was glad to find a book which features both Elizabeth I and her mother Anne Boleyn, and author Robin Maxwell should be given credit for creating its interesting premise. That is: Elizabeth gets the disposal of the secret diary her mother kept unknown to the world, which is wholly imaginary. Alas even though with such a great premise this book does not deliver. Ms. Maxwell fails to capture the complexity of both queens and her characterizations remain bland and one-dimensional. For example Anne's edges, thorns and quirks are smoothed over and you end up with a rather dull Anne. The book gets stuck in text bookishness and the author's handling of the courtship/marriage of Henry VIII and Anne and Elizabeth's affair with Leicester is downright awkward. By the way the representation of Elizabeth and Leicester as lovers is conjecture of the author (and others) and was never proved. Further the author fabricates a sort of old English which misses its mark entirely. As already has been pointed out, real Tudor language was quite different stuff. So for me this novel fails to deliver entirely. For the handling of these fascinating queens you need an author of the calibre like Sharon Kay Penman , which I'm sorry to say Ms. Maxwell is not. by stardustraven
Rating:
Summary: History, Rewritten!
Review: The Secret Life of Anne Boleyn vividly captures a period during the House of Tudor reign, in which readers could perceive the life of Anne Boleyn - as she might EVEN have lived it! Truth or fiction?!? Author Robin Maxwell has woven many extraordinary, though several seemingly inexact, historical accounts during the Tudor monarchy. These are paralleled uniquely with infidelity and wanton desires (among other things) into a FICTIONAL work. The diary succeeds in portraying the life of Anne Boleyn as incredibly as many scholars of English history have heretofore traced it. A GOOD legendary, albeit NOT authentic, READ! What will the pages of her sequel unfold?
Rating:
Summary: Fanciful version of the Anne Boleyn legend.
Review: Imagine that Queen Elizabeth discovers her doomed mother's diary! That's the hook and the author does a great job mixing the lives of the mother and daughter queens. Snuggle up with a box of bon-bon's and enjoy this one.
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