As a big fan of Tudor History and having read and enjoyed other work by Amy Licence, I was very excited to get my hands on a review copy of ‘Anne Boleyn: Adultery, Heresy, Desire’.

Whether you’ve read lots of books about Anne before or you’re new to the story, her story is a piece of history so rich in twists and turns, so full of questions and the intracacies of relationships – both public and private, and so utterly beautiful and yet brutal, that if you were to write it as a novel today it would be dismissed as being too unrealistic.

But Anne and Henry did happen. The question that keeps us coming back and back to their story is why? What caused the love story of the century to turn so ugly so quickly? How did Anne manage to win the heart of a King – did she play the coy Virgin to trap him and make herself Queen of England or did she simply not want to be thrown away, like so many others? As this book explains, Anne Boleyn was an extraordinary woman for her time, she was educated, sophisticated, funny, witty and clever – she took incredible risks and ultimately was betrayed by the man who gave her everything – the same man who then took it all away.

Amy Licence’s account of Anne’s life is vivid and detailed. Well researched and written in an easily accessible, yet authoritative tone, this is a great book for anyone interested in the life of one of England’s most fascinating Queens.

Thanks to Amy Licence and Hazel at Amberley House for the review copy.