reading & read | cmr

The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, by Robin Maxwell

Every now and then, I love delving into historical fiction. Rarely does my date stamp go beyond the 1800s when I can fantasize about Mr. Rochester or Newfoundland in the height of seal hunting. My mother Ellen is most intrigued by biographies of Kings and Queens and I like the movies about them - all so scandalous. But on a trip to Borders, looking for something cheap to read and feeling in the mood for a little historial fiction, I picked up this book for a mere $3.98. The cover line that got me?

Blending a historian's attention to accuracy with a novelist's artful rendering, Maxwell weaves compelling descriptions of court life and devastating portraits of actual people into her naughty, page-turning tale. The result is a masterpiece of historical fiction - so prophetic of our time that one would think it were ripped from today's headlines.

The novel begins with Elizabeth I at the throne. There is much talk about her and Robin Dudley, her horsemaster and lover. She hates her mother - simply because what she knows is what the public knows; and she adores her father for the same reasons. But then an old woman comes to visit and presents to Elizabeth an old journal - that of her mother, Anne Boleyn.

I personally found the diary far more fascinating than Elizabeth, but the concept of never letting a man rule over you, even if it means your head, would not have hit quite as hard without the tale of Elizabeth contemplating marriage with Robin after his own wife dies.

An intriguing story; not a book I'd recommend to my friends unless they wanted entertainment, or something to inspire them into more history, but good nonetheless. I just read and wanted to watch the movie all over again - especially when Cate Blanchette says, "I am married to England." Fucking badass.

No really cool badass songs in this novel, but entertainment aplenty.

Oh. And I'm really fascinated to read more biographical accounts of both women.

posted by christen roberts @ 12:25 PM