Boleyns

Description

A magnificent tale of family rivalry and intrigue set against Henry VIII's court. The fall of Anne Boleyn and her brother George is the classic drama of the Tudor era. The Boleyns had long been an influential English family. Sir Edward Boleyn had been Lord Mayor of London. His grandson, Sir Thomas had inherited wealth and position, and through the sexual adventures of his daughters, Mary and Anne, ascended to the peak of influence at court. The three Boleyn children formed a faction of their own, making many enemies: and when those enemies secured Henry VIII's ear, they brought down the entire family in blood and disgrace. George, Lord Rochfort, left no children. Mary left a son by her husband, William Carey - Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon. Anne left a daughter, Elizabeth I - so like her in many ways and a sexual politician without rival. Includes 33 illustrations, 25 in colour.

Reviews

'Loades describes fully and with his usual panache the history of the family' THE HISTORIAN 'Neither Starkey nor Weir has the assurance and command of Loades' SIMON HEFFER, LITERARY REVIEW 'David Loades Tudor biographies are both highly enjoyable and instructive, the perfect combination' ANTONIA FRASER

Author description

David Loades is Emeritus Professor of the University of Wales. He has written sixteen books on the Tudors, including: HENRY VIII ('A triumph' THE SPECTATOR, 'The best place to send anyone seriously wanting to get to grips with alternative understandings of England's most mesmerising monarch - copious illustrations, imaginatively chosen' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE), MARY TUDOR ('An excellent and sensitive biography' THE OBSERVER), THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII ('I warmly recommend this book' ALISON WEIR), ELIZABETH I ('Succeeds in depicting her to us as a real woman - a very good book' LITERARY REVIEW, 'Readable, searching and wise' NEW STATESMAN, 'Everything a scholarly biography should be, and a good read too' DR RICHARD REX), THE CHRONICLE OF THE TUDOR KINGS, THE CHRONICLE OF THE TUDOR QUEENS, THE REIGN OF MARY TUDOR, THE FIGHTING TUDORS, THE MAKING OF THE TUDOR NAVY, THE TUDOR QUEENS, and HENRY VIII: COURT, CHURCH & CONFLICT. He is currently writing a major new biography of Catherine Howard also for Amberley Publishing. He lives in Burford in Oxfordshire.