The SECRET DIARY OF ANNE BOLEYN

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Loved It ... and can't wait to read it again !!
Review: I purchased this book a little over two years ago and found it completely engaging. I have read many books on this era & there just aren't other books of this make-up out there. The only one that I have read that you could compare this to is 'The Autobiography of Henry VIII' by Margaret George. I simply couldn't put it down. I love the details and just the idea of, well, maybe this did happen, or she may have actually said this at one time. It's obvious the effort Robin Maxwell put forth in researching & writing this delicious book on my favorite gal's mom. I'm only saddened by the fact that I let my sister borrow my copy about 1 1/2 yrs ago and I haven't seen it since(and probably never will again)!! Time to get another one. I would love to refresh my thoughts w/the tales of Elizabeth I & her precious mother.

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth Reading!
Review: This book is entertaining and well worth you time, and reading

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, Hard To Put Down!
Review: What a fascinating novel! I haven't heard the best things about this book, but this book was very well written, and hard to put down! It was very personal, and left a feeling that you had actually meet Anne Boleyn and, her daughter, Elizabeth I.

Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: The back cover copy does not do this book justice--it is NOT the trashy romance novel described. Instead it is a powerful novel that acts first as a biography of Anne Boleyn, and secondly, a portrait of how Elizabeth I might have come to terms with her mother's life and death. Don't read this book if you want a textbook interpretation of Tudor England. But if you've always wondered if or how Elizabeth was influenced by her mother's life and death, read this book for a very interesting interpretation! I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Trite and unhistorical account of Tudor England
Review: The only thing(s) sillier than this novel are the reviews praising it. It is no more faithful to the historical record than the novels of Jean Plaidy. As an academic who specializes in the field, I urge serious students of Tudor England to read a book that is faithful to the language and spirit of the age: Maria Perry, _Word of a Prince: A life of Elizabeth I from contemporary documents_. If you must read historical fiction, then try Patricai Finney, _Firedrake's Eye_. It is a superior effort, and much to be preferred over this bodice-ripper.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: This book had an interesting premise and for the most part carried it out. It was not as gripping as I'd hoped it to be and while the ending was slightly unbelievable it was touching too. However can we really apply 20th century psychoanalysis to why Elizabeth I never married? She would have been raised with the idea that she HAD to get married - it would have been instilled in her from an early age. To give all the reasons why we today believe she stayed single is applying our values to her time. Who knows the truth? Either way they were both extraordinary women.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am a great fan of this period of history and a great admirer of Anne, but this book does not live up to it's promise. It is a fair enough read, but towards the end I found the endless angst a little grinding. I also found the ending and the way it attempts to relate to Elizabeth's reign quite unconvincing.

Rating:
Summary: fascinating and involving account of the life of Anne Boleyn
Review: I found this book to be an entirely satisfying account of the life of Anne Boleyn, far from a "standard Bodice Ripper". Anne herself is portrayed as neither a pawn nor a conniver, but as a woman who tried to take some control of of her life. The added device of Elizabeth I reading the diary and being influenced by it made the book even more involving. It has been a while since I read a "can't put it downer" and this was it!

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly flat for a book focused on sex and religion
Review: This book is a very traditional treatment of Tudor history. No social context, no real understanding of the politics or restraints women like Anne lived within. The author makes Anne the central figure -- the reformation in England occurs at her instigation. While trying to correct the traditional oversight of female figures in Tudor history, the author overcompensates by making Anne the absolute center. While this is a diary, and such a focus is therefore understandable, the book does not read as such, but as a flat recounting of events.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing bodice-ripper lacks Fabio on the cover
Review: This poor book has a wonderful premise but it turns out to be standard romance pulp. The author seems unable to discard a single notecard so the research ends up sounding like a termpaper for "Intro to Tudor England." The characters are flat, save for perky alabaster bosoms everywhere you turn. Anne Boleyn's diary is totally unconvincing with its polished 2000 word entries, pages of perfectly remembered dialog, and a prescience that would put Nostradamus into a jealous funk. Elizabeth rides around saving England and the Reformation and setting her older and wiser advisors straight like Batgirl bailing out Gotham and bawling out Commissioner Gordon. Barbara Cartland has done this kind of stuff hundreds of times without the phony erudition.