Boleyn Traitor, by Philippa Gregory, is the fictionalized story of Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, the sister-in-law to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. It is the 11th novel in her series The Pantagenet and Tudor Novels, although it is the first book I have personally read by Philippa Gregory.
Boleyn Traitor begins in summer 1534. Anne Boleyn’s daughter Elizabeth has been born, and Anne is pregnant with her second child, a pregnancy which will end prematurely and spell the beginning of the end for the queen. But this story is not about Anne, it’s about her brother’s wife Jane, and is told in first person from her point of view.
I will admit to being a, I don’t want to say fan of the Tudors, let’s say I’ve been interested in the history of the Tudor’s since I wrote a paper on Henry VIII in grade eight. Prior to that I couldn’t have told you who Henry VIII, or any of his wives were, and while I haven’t read extensively on them, over the years I have picked up books, both fiction and non-fiction, and I’m not ashamed to say that I watch a lot of history documentaries. History fascinates me.
I enjoy reading various versions of fictionalized accounts of the lives of historical figures. It makes me wonder how much information is based on historical fact, and how much is embellished by the author. Of course being told in first person, there is no doubt that the internal thoughts of Jane’s character are not her own, but it make one wonder about the things she went through, and how she navigated them, and her internal thoughts as she did so.
I did feel that the author treated the three of the four queens we actually saw in the novel rather harshly. She seemed to really lean in to the ideas that Anne Boleyn was a bitch, Jane was the most boring person to ever live, and Kathryn Howard was stupid. The one idea she didn’t seem to embrace was the idea that Anne of Cleve’s was ugly, in this novel she is shown to be quite beautiful, and none of the ugly things Henry would have had people believe.
I was glad that the author did not depict Jane as one of the people who spoke against her husband when he was accused of incest with Anne. I have read and heard those rumours on documentaries for years, but recently I have seen documentaries where they are now saying that there is no indication that Jane gave evidence against George, and I’m glad the author did not follow that storyline in this book.
There seems to be no doubt that even after years at court, and watching Anne’s fall and the demise of her own husband, Jane did not use her best judgement in serving Kathryn Howard after she was married to Henry. In this novel, the author portrays Jane as being soft-hearted towards this young queen, believing she and Thomas Culpepper were truly in love, and gambling on the fact that Henry would die before their involvement could be found out. It made the final chapters of this book quite sad to read, knowing how things would ultimately end.
The book closes just as the guard arrives to Jane’s rooms in the Tower of London, to lead her to the executioner’s block.
I found the author’s take on Jane Boleyn’s life to be interesting, and mostly a believable account. It was an interesting look into this period of Tudor history, and left me feeling a bit sad. Because whether or not Kathryn Howard committed adultery, she was young and as we know young people do not make the best decisions.
If you’re interested in historical fiction, and the Tudor period in particular, I would recommend this Boleyn Traitor. I think you will enjoy this take on the life of Jane Boleyn.
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