Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Second Book

Last week I finished At Home with Henry VIII His life, his wives, his palaces by Rose Shepherd. This was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law last year. It's a beautiful book with lots of photographs and reproductions of paintings.

At Home has less than 200 pages; I didn't expect to learn anything from it. I've already read so many books about Tudor England, especially about Anne Boleyn. But I did learn that, according to Shepherd, Anne preferred a pendant with an "A." I've never heard that, and have only seen the "B" pendant.

One of the author's comments got me thinking. Shepherd wonders if Anne Boleyn would have the cult following she has today if she had not gone to her death with such courage and dignity.

I never thought of myself as being in a cult, but I guess being among a cult following is accurate. I've been fascinated by Anne for years. She was a tragic heroine; I had romanticized her relationship with Harry Percy. I never bought into the great love between Henry and Anne. Henry was obsessed with Anne because she wouldn't fall into his arms like a ripe peach.

Did Anne love Henry? She certainly loved the power and grandeur of being a queen. I hate to believe she loved him and suffered a betrayal of that love as well as everything else.

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