Read of the Week

If I had to describe Susan Bordo’s book The Creation of Anne Boleyn I would characterize it as thought-provoking, a kind of historical sand-paper peeling back layers of mistruth and mythology that have accumulated about Anne’s life and death in last 500 years. Bordo is not a historian, rather an instructor in Philosophy and Gender Studies which lends new perspective and ideas to the search for the truth about our favorite Tudor queen.

The first half of the book is devoted to research on Anne’s life. For anyone who is very familiar with Anne there is not a lot of new information. I absolutely loved the second section of her book “Recipes of Anne Boleyn”. This portion of the book addresses how perceptions and interpretations of Anne have changed over time and what influenced this malleable image of England’s most infamous Queen. Bordo references the changes in Anne’s historical persona through the influence of literature and popular culture. The rise in feminist feelings led to a much more sympathetic view of Anne than ever before, while conservative agendas tend to paint her as the usurping whore. The third part of the book is devoted to the Hollywood picture of Anne and Bordo pursues interviews with Genevieve Bujold, Natalie Dormer and others who have been involved with the cinematic portrayal of Anne.

If I have one complaint about this book it is Bordo’s almost aggressive approach towards criticizing Tudor historians including Alison Weir and David Starkey. If you follow my reads of the week very closely you know that I have often reviewed these authors and find that while I may not agree with every point they make, these two undoubtedly lend much knowledge and incredible insight into the world of Tudor England. Bordo accuses them of fabricating history while making errors in her own research including in chapter four where she talks about Anne and Henry making their trip to Calais to meet King Francois I in 1532. She says that Fracois’ consort Claude snubbed Anne and refused to meet with her. This is incorrect; Anne had served in Claude’s court for many years and there were undoubtedly warm feelings between the two women. Not only did Claude not snub Anne in 1532, but she died in 1524 of child bed fever. It was Eleanor who refused to meet with Anne in Calais.  I do not mind Bordo’s criticism of Philipa Gregory. While she is one of my favorite historical fiction writers, Gregory’s work cannot and should not be taken as fact. Gregory has claimed to be a trained historian, which she is! Unfortunately, she does not use her doctorate in history to put forth truth, rather she bases her writing on historical probability; a ludicrous notion. Many people learn their history from popular culture, Gregory should be aware of this and shoulder the responsibility of producing fairly accurate historical fiction. Instead she has convinced the masses that Anne Boleyn had a sexual relationship with her own brother.

The Creation of Anne Boleyn is fresh, fun to read and sometimes “in your face” when Bordo discusses what she likes and dislikes about how Anne is presented to the general public. This book was enlightening and hard to put down. My best advice: pick it up today!

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