The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn - Family Politics At the Court of Henry VIII by Warnicke, Retha M

New York , Cambridge University Press, 1989, xi, 326 pages, US first edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2, VG/VG condition, notes, bibliog., index.-----------------------This is a fascinating and truly original study of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second queen, which tackles afresh a series of long-standing and fundamental convictions about her personality and fate.There has remained a compelling mystery about the events that led to Anne's execution in 1536. Scholars have speculated hitherto that she was executed as the result of a factional conspiracy masterminded by Henry's minister Thomas Cromwell, a conclusion that may be reached only by accepting uncritically the distorted evidence of hostile sixteenth-century writers. -----------------------------------------Professor Warnicke treats this evidence as prejudiced testimony, and develops a more reliable picture of Anne by analyzing her life within the framework of social and religious values, including family loyalty and honor, and fears about witches and the birth of deformed children. By bringing to bear these values on questions about Anne's role at court it is possible to view the queen's execution (which occurred only four months after a miscarriage) as the result of Henry's profound concern about the continuation of the Tudor dynasty.This attractively written illustrated study will be read by all those who remain fascinated by the political and sexual intrigues of Henry VIII's court and by the tragic fate of one of its most tantalizing figures.