Editorial Content for Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Forever Changed British History
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Both Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I have received massive literary, scholarly, artistic and visual attention as separate historical figures, and deservedly so. But surprisingly little has reached popular readership about their complex mother-daughter relationship. Tracy Borman’s ANNE BOLEYN & ELIZABETH I offers a fascinating corrective to the historical limbo into which this crucial connection had fallen.
As women rulers of Britain --- Anne for barely three years (1533-1536) and Elizabeth I for an astonishing 45 years (1558-1603) --- each shattered many precedents of monarchy by claiming, asserting and staunchly defending powers formerly granted only to men. Ironically, the princess Elizabeth was only a toddler when Henry VIII beheaded Anne for supposed infidelity, but in reality for her outspoken religious and political opinions and failure to produce a male heir.
"Perhaps the most poignant revelation in ANNE BOLEYN & ELIZABETH I are the comments that Elizabeth I made from time to time concerning the fate of strong women who lose their power, and often their lives, by marrying and bearing children."
True to Tudor tradition, and that of other royal families since the Middle Ages, the offspring of kings and queens rarely saw their parents until young adulthood. In Elizabeth’s case, however, her childhood far from the court was fraught with debate over her legitimacy and the guilt or innocence of her mother. These were twin burdens that she carried her entire life, even through her years of greatest international power and influence. But both women had their confidantes and supporters, whose loyalty and love --- from child caregivers to court officials --- contributed to forging material and emotional bonds that Elizabeth cherished long after Anne’s untimely death.
In essence, Elizabeth I lived with the elusive ghost of a mother she adored and revered, but never knew, which must have made Borman’s twin biography project (the first of its kind) supremely challenging. Through her painstaking research for ANNE BOLEYN & ELIZABETH I, even the most trivial scraps of information about Anne’s life and activities take on vivid importance, becoming pieces of a human mosaic that reveals just how similar mother and daughter were in temperament, intellect, spirituality and appearance.
In many ways, Elizabeth herself had much less to go on than Borman. But as a clever pragmatist in both her official and private lives, she took care to surround herself with men and women at court who had known and loved Anne, as well as sympathetic family members. Those who broke her trust were often dismissed for life, or lost their lives.
In a series of skillfully curated color plates, Borman shows how Elizabeth I often made a point of dressing in styles unmistakably similar to those seen in portraits of her mother, including the jewelry and hair adornments she wore. Elizabeth also scoured royal bookshelves for volumes (chiefly on religion and philosophy) once owned by the intellectually accomplished Anne, as well as other furnishings and artwork.
It would seem quite natural, in fact, for any daughter to gather around her a collection of meaningful objects and intimate articles once owned by a beloved mother. But Elizabeth’s mission to rehabilitate Anne in the public and political imagination was made both difficult and dangerous due to Henry VIII’s obsession with eliminating his second wife completely from history. Nearly every symbol associated with her was removed and destroyed; even uttering her name was forbidden.
Perhaps the most poignant revelation in ANNE BOLEYN & ELIZABETH I are the comments that Elizabeth I made from time to time concerning the fate of strong women who lose their power, and often their lives, by marrying and bearing children. Borman argues with heartfelt credibility that, haunted by Anne’s demise, her daughter chose to remain single and childless in order to be the monarch Britain needed.
Teaser
The future Queen Elizabeth was not yet three when her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded on May 19, 1536, on Henry’s order, incensed that she had not given him a son and tired of her contentious nature. Elizabeth had been raised away from court, rarely even seeing Anne. After her death, Henry tried in every way to erase Anne’s presence and memory. At that moment in history, few could have predicted that mother and daughter would each leave enduring, and interlocked, legacies. Yet as Tracy Borman reveals in this first-ever joint portrait, both women broke the mold for British queens and for women in general at the time.
Promo
The future Queen Elizabeth was not yet three when her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded on May 19, 1536, on Henry’s order, incensed that she had not given him a son and tired of her contentious nature. Elizabeth had been raised away from court, rarely even seeing Anne. After her death, Henry tried in every way to erase Anne’s presence and memory. At that moment in history, few could have predicted that mother and daughter would each leave enduring, and interlocked, legacies. Yet as Tracy Borman reveals in this first-ever joint portrait, both women broke the mold for British queens and for women in general at the time.
About the Book
Anne Boleyn may be best known for losing her head, but as Tudor expert Tracy Borman reveals in a book that recasts British history, her greatest legacy lies in the path-breaking reign of her daughter, Elizabeth.
Much of the fascination with Britain’s legendary Tudors centers around the dramas surrounding Henry VIII and his six wives and Elizabeth I’s rumored liaisons. Yet the most fascinating relationship in that historic era may well be that between the mother and daughter who, individually and collectively, changed the course of British history.
The future Queen Elizabeth was not yet three when her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded on May 19, 1536, on Henry’s order, incensed that she had not given him a son and tired of her contentious nature. Elizabeth had been raised away from court, rarely even seeing Anne. After her death, Henry tried in every way to erase Anne’s presence and memory. At that moment in history, few could have predicted that mother and daughter would each leave enduring, and interlocked, legacies.
Yet as Tracy Borman reveals in this first-ever joint portrait, both women broke the mold for British queens and for women in general at the time. Anne was instrumental in reforming and reshaping forever Britain’s religious traditions, and her years of wielding power over a male-dominated court provided an inspiring role model for Elizabeth’s glittering, groundbreaking 45-year reign. Indeed, Borman shows how much Elizabeth --- most visibly by refusing to ever marry, but in many other more subtle ways that defined her court --- was influenced by her mother’s legacy.
In its originality, ANNE BOLEYN & ELIZABETH I sheds new light on two of history’s most famous women --- the private desires, hopes and fears that lay behind their dazzling public personas, and the surprising influence each had on the other during and after their lifetimes. In the process, Tracy Borman reframes our understanding of the entire Tudor era.
Audiobook available, read by Tracy Borman
