Written by E. Ives
458 pages
Published by Blackwell Publishers
Review by Wendy J. Dunn
Receives: 
I am in such a perplexity, that my mind is clearly amazed; for I never had better opinion in woman, than I had in her.
Thomas Cranmer, writing to the King after Anne Boleyn's arrest.
Anne Boleyn – over four hundred and sixty-eight years after her death – is it really possible to gain a sense of the woman who woke the lion within Henry VIII, the lion that More so rightly feared – the same lion that one day ripped Anne Boleyn's life to shreds? Can we get behind the mask Anne Boleyn represented to the world? Seen in her own times in so many guises: a goggle-eyed whore, a witch, the scandal of Christendom, a sainted martyr. Like all of us, Anne Boleyn demonstrates the true complexity of the human spirit.
Years ago I read Eric Ives' Anne Boleyn. Regarding it then as the most complete biography of Anne Boleyn ever written, the book remains on my bookshelf as one of my most treasured Tudor reference books. When I heard of the release of Professor Ives' major work, I assumed it a re-release of the original; I couldn't imagine how Ives could improve on his pivotal study of the life of Anne Boleyn. Ives revisits his great biography, first published in 1986, and makes it anew by using additional material and further study, demonstrating once again what an excellent biography is all about. This is more than just an excellent and satisfying biography; written with an obvious passion for his subject, Ives' study on Anne Boleyn's life is superb.
In my mind, a good biography not only introduces the reader to its subject but seeks to go beyond simply providing a cardboard cut out; a good biography opens the door and makes the reader engage with the subject. We come away from the work left with an image and a voice - the very humanness of its theme.
As an historical fiction author focusing on the Tudor period, I particularly yearn for insights to assist me develop fully rounded characters set soundly in the context of their own times. I want to know what they liked to wear, their favourite colours, particular dislikes, what made them cry or laugh. Ives, with his vast knowledge of this period of English history and his extensive research of Anne Boleyn's life, is more than able to provide these insights. We come away from Ives' work feeling he has lifted the curtain and allowed us to really glimpse her – a woman of ambition and great political ability, a woman worthy to be a King's consort and partner, a woman who believed God meant for her to be queen.
Indeed, as Professor Ives highlights in this important biography, Anne Boleyn was an intelligent, self-made woman who understood the image of majesty almost as well as her daughter, responsible for encouraging the early years of the English reformation.
Professor Ives provides a deeper understanding as to why Cromwell, once part of Anne Boleyn's faction, found it necessary to take the queen from the chess board once and for all. Ives also helps us appreciate why Anne Boleyn so rightly feared Mary, saying, “She is my death and I am hers.”
In the final analysis, Ives' work reveals Anne Boleyn who is like most of us, more good than bad – but also a gifted, intelligent woman worthy of a King's passion and gives to history her daughter Elizabeth. Most importantly, this biography powerfully vindicates Anne Boleyn, showing Anne and the men murdered along with her wrongfully done to death - circa Regna tonat. ______________________________________________________________
Wendy J. Dunn is an Australian writer obsessed by Tudor History. She now has a new passion: Medieval Castile. The author of the award-winning novel Dear Heart, How Like You This?, Wendy is currently working on a trilogy based on the life of Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII.