The story of Anne Boleyn is one that many history fanatics are familiar with. Her relationship with King Henry VIII, replacement of the always faithful Queen Katherine, and eventual conviction of adultery are infamous to any person interested. “The Challenge of Anne Boleyn” by Hester W. Chapman takes this scandalous tale and starts from the beginning. It attempts to uncover the true story behind the king of England’s mistress, resulting in a detailed account of Anne Boleyn’s life. The book does not skip over any information, compiling every record and remark about Anne and attempting to sort out the lies from the fact. It does a good job of proving how the Anne portrayed in history and legend is not the Anne of reality. It also focuses on key people who were around her and King Henry VIII a lot, using their letters and writings to create an image of who they really were. The style that this book is written in is very factual. It gives any and every piece of information possible on Anne’s life, though sometimes this is a little too much. For example, the reader does not need to know specifically what she ate at the banquets she attended or about the presents that one lady wanted to give her. Also, the book mentioned a lot of people that were all somehow related to Anne, but when it attempted to show their connection it got confusing. If you did not remember some character from 5 chapters ago, you would not be able to understand how the new one was related at all. With all of the information provided, it is a chunky read. There is new information in every single sentence, making it impossible to skim over any page, as you could miss important information. Overall if you’re up for the challenge of reading a fact-clogged book and have an interest in life during the reign of King Henry VIII, this book is definitely for you.
The style that this book is written in is very factual. It gives any and every piece of information possible on Anne’s life, though sometimes this is a little too much. For example, the reader does not need to know specifically what she ate at the banquets she attended or about the presents that one lady wanted to give her. Also, the book mentioned a lot of people that were all somehow related to Anne, but when it attempted to show their connection it got confusing. If you did not remember some character from 5 chapters ago, you would not be able to understand how the new one was related at all. With all of the information provided, it is a chunky read. There is new information in every single sentence, making it impossible to skim over any page, as you could miss important information.
Overall if you’re up for the challenge of reading a fact-clogged book and have an interest in life during the reign of King Henry VIII, this book is definitely for you.