Product Description

A fascinating debut biography of Jane Boleyn, the lady-in-waiting who witnessed and survived Henry VIII’s perilous reign, until she too became a victim.

In a life of extraordinary drama, Jane Boleyn was catapulted from the obscurity of the English countryside to the forefront of Henry VIII’s spectacular court, as lady-in-waiting to not just one, but five of Henry’s wives. Always at the centre of court life and intrigue, Jane attended the parties, the masque balls, and the jousts, and participated in the royal births, the weddings, the funerals, and the personal drama that swirled around the king, his wives, and their courtiers. As Henry’s wives rose and then fell, taking so many down with them, Jane stayed on. Her story gives readers an amazing, ongoing view of the personal toll that Henry’s long and ruthlessly violent reign took on the people closest to him, and positions her as a survivor — that is, until she herself became the subject of the king’s rage.

History has not always been kind to the “Infamous Lady Rochford,” but in this fascinating biography, Julia Fox goes back to the original documents to rehabilitate Jane as a modern woman forced by brutal circumstances to fend for herself in a privileged but vicious world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #358313 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-08
• Released on: 2008-01-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Wife of Anne Boleyn's brother George, Jane, Viscountess Rochford, has been painted by historians, beginning with the Protestant Elizabethan John Foxe, as a barren, jealous shrew who lied about George and Anne's incestuous relationship, helping send them to their deaths for treason against Henry VIII. Jane herself was executed for treason several years later for abetting the adultery of Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard. According to Fox's revisionist account, Jane was faithful to the opportunistic Boleyn clan; she didn't rush to slander her husband, but succumbed under Thomas Cromwell's relentless interrogation, repeating an indiscretion by Anne about Henry's sexual dysfunction. Moreover, Fox says, George's execution was a financial blow to Jane—his royal perquisites of lands and offices were seized. Jane clawed her way back to a senior court position when she was ordered by Catherine Howard to pass messages to her lover, and Jane's complicity, according to Fox, opened the door for historians to excoriate Jane for her sister-in-law's death. In her debut, Fox never quite convinces readers that her lackluster, almost faceless Jane is a courageous, mostly blameless victim of court intrigues, and this amateurish, toothless history is more a rehash of Anne's rise and fall with a tag-on about Catherine's foolhardiness. (Jan.)
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From AudioFile
Although Anne Boleyn's rise and fall has been carefully documented, little is known about her sister-in-law, Jane, wife of Anne's brother, George. This well-researched volume paints Jane as a loyal but also opportunistic wife and sister-in-law. Upon the execution of George and Anne, Jane wastes no time in appealing to Henry's mercy and reinstating herself back in his court. Jenny Sterlin delivers the material with a perfectly refined English frankness. She keeps the pace smooth, acting as an unbiased observer to the intrigue and espionage that occurrs around Jane and her contemporaries. Although a bit gossipy in tone, the final product is an interesting new view of the events and people surrounding one of England's most infamous kings. J.G.K. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
Julia Fox has a degree in history from the University of London, where she has taught for a number of years, specializing in the Tudors and in the nineteenth century. She is married to the historian John Guy and lives in the U.K. Jane Boleyn is her first book.