Book Review - Thorns, Lust, and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn by Estelle Paranque

 

Thorns, Lust, and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn by Estelle Paranque is about the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn is known to be the second wife of Henry XVIII who met an unfortunate ending.  Most of her writing has been destroyed so her side of the story was rarely told, and she was often vilified. The only thing that was known for certain is that Anne was tragically executed at the Tower of London on May 19, 1536.

The book was an okay read. I thought the book would have included more details from Anne’s point of view but at times, it seems like she barely played a role in the story. It was like she was a side character. It feels like most of the focus was on Henry and Francis. I feel disappointed by this because the book seems to be billed as a book about Anne. At times, the book seemed boring, and it was very dense with details and speculation on what Anne might have said. I understand that Anne’s works were destroyed but maybe it would have been better to write this as a fictional story instead.