Tudor Book Reviews

Posted By Claire on June 3, 2011

Jane Boleyn, wife of George Boleyn and sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn, fascinates me. She is an enigma and someone who has been badly maligned by history. Jane is portrayed in popular fiction as a meddling, jealous and spiteful woman who sent her husband and Queen to their deaths and who is partly responsible for the death of another Queen, however, when you start researching the Boleyns, as I have done, you realise that the picture you have of Jane Boleyn just is not right and has no real basis.

I am so pleased that historian Julia Fox is battling the myths that surround this woman and correcting the image we have of her and she has done it by going back to the primary source evidence. Forget the myths, what does the evidence say about Jane, her life, her marriage, her time at court, the events of 1536, the events of 1541 and 1542? In this book, Julia Fox shares her journey to the truth about the ‘Infamous Lady Rochford’, “a pariah of Tudor history”, and it is a truly enlightening and wonderful read.

Here is an overview of Julia’s book which is published as “Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford” in the UK and “Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford” in the US.:-

Introduction

• Acknowledgements – Here, Julia writes of how she was considering a book on Henry VIII’s six wives when she was suddenly gripped by Jane Boleyn’s story, the story of a woman who “had been thoroughly maligned”.
• Genealogical Tables – Here we have family trees of the Parkers (Jane’s family), the Boleyns and the Howards
• Author’s Notes – Explanation of dates, currency and spelling
• Prologue: The Hand of Fate – A very interesting start to the book: an account of the burial of Henry, Duke of Cornwall, the infant son of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Julia writes of how the direction of the lives of Jane Parker, Anne, Mary and George Boleyn, and their “ultimate fate”, “would be so determined by the death of a prince they had never seen” and the King’s quest for a heir.

The Early Years

• Childhood – Julia writes of Jane’s family home, her baptism, her lineage, her religious upbringing and her departure for court.
• All that Glitters – Jane’s arrival at Henry VIII’s court, court life and Jane’s time at the Field of Cloth of Gold.
• Château Vert – Jane’s carefree days at court and the 1522 Shrove Tuesday Château Vert entertainment and Jane’s part as Constancy
• A Suitable Match – The marriage match of Jane with George Boleyn, George’s family background, the pre-nuptial contract of 4th October 1524 and Jane’s jointure.
• For Better, for Worse – Julia’s theory on the date and place of Jane and George’s marriage, and details on what Jane’s wedding day would have been like.

Woman in the Shadows

• Kindness Captures a King – Jane’s married life, the affair of Henry VIII and Jane’s sister-in-law, Mary Boleyn, and the birth of Jane’s nephew, Henry Carey.
• The Falcon’s Rise – Henry VIII’s new love: Anne Boleyn, Anne’s links with Thomas Wyatt and Henry Percy, the King’s courtship of Anne and the agreement between them that Anne would become his wife and queen.
• Lady-in-Waiting – Henry and Anne’s struggle to marry.
• The Sweat – 1528 and the arrival of sweating sickness which affected George, Anne, their father Thomas and William Carey (Mary Boleyn’s husband), who died of it.
• Fortune’s Wheel – The arrival of Cardinal Campeggio and the Blackfriars Legatine Court, Catherine of Aragon’s impassioned speech and her victory as the court is adjourned, and the rise of the Boleyns.
• Almost There – The autumn 1532 voyage of Anne and Henry to France, which Jane attends, the consummation of Anne and Henry’s relationship, Anne’s pregnancy, their marriage and the Boleyn victory as Archbishop Cranmer rules that Henry’s marriage to Catherine was invalid.

A Woman of Importance

• Soaring with the Falcon – Details on the coronation processions of Anne Boleyn and Henry Parker’s (Jane’s brother) moment of glory as he is made a Knight of the Bath.
• The Falcon Crowned – Anne Boleyn’s coronation ceremony on the 1st June 1533.
• Long May We Reign – Details on how the Boleyn family profits from Anne’s rise, the disobedience of Catherine and Mary, the allegations of Mrs Amadus and the “utterings” of Elizabeth Barton, Holy Maid of Kent, Anne’s household and Jane’s life there, and Anne’s confinement in August 1533.
• Birth of a Niece – The birth of Elizabeth and the christening.
• The Boleyns Rampant – Anne’s second pregnancy, Jane’s lifestyle as one of Anne’s ladies, the Boleyns’ interest in Reform, the continued defiance of Catherine and Mary and their treatment, the handing over of the Palace of Beaulieu to George and Jane, and Anne’s miscarriage.

The Winds of Change

• The King’s Displeasure – Henry’s continued commitment to Anne, the case of Elizabeth Barton, Henry’s squashing of rebellion and disobedience, the executions of the Carthusian monks, Bishop Fisher and Thomas More.
• Happy Families – Henry’s flirtation with another woman and Anne and Jane’s plot to get the woman dismissed from court which backfired and resulted in Jane being exiled, Mary Boleyn’s secret marriage to William Stafford and Anne’s fury, the rift between Anne and the Duke of Norfolk, and Jane’s effort to help her scholar, William Foster.
• The Final Flourish – The continuing ill treatment of Catherine and Mary, the Boleyns’ interest in reformist literature, Anne’s desire to help the poor, Anne’s “hands-on approach to policy” and her pregnancy.
• The Wheel Turns – “The end of the Boleyn ascendancy” which starts with Catherine’s death and Anne’s miscarriage, Jane’s knowledge of the King’s sexual problems and his new flame, Jane Seymour, the snub to the Boleyns as Sir Nicholas Carew, not George, is knighted, the arrests of Anne and George.
• The Edge of the Precipice – The investigation into Anne’s “incontinent living”, Jane’s interrogation, Cromwell’s gathering of evidence, John Husee’s claim that three women accused Anne of infidelity: Lady Worcester, Nan Cobham “and one maid more” and how Cromwell sent for the private correspondence of Lady wingfield, Jane’s message to her husband in the Tower.
• Death of the Falcon – Details of the indictments and trial’s and Jane’s father’s involvement, the fact that Jane was not mentioned and did not give evidence, George and Anne’s executions and Jane left alone in the world.

Carving a Career

• Taking Stock – The King seizes George’s belongings and scribes record Jane’s, the vultures who benefit from George’s fall, Jane’s dependency on Thomas Boleyn and her jointure and her need to budget, and her letter to Cromwell asking for help.
• A New Beginning – Jane’s new position in Jane Seymour’s privy chamber, the rise of the Seymours, Lord Morley’s friendship with the Lady Mary, the reunion of Henry VIII and Mary, and Jane’s new life with the new queen.
• A Prince at Last – Queen Jane’s pregnancy and the birth of Edward, the christening and Lord Morley’s involvement.
• The Bitterness of Death – The Queen’s illness and death, Jane’s involvement in the funeral.
• A Woman of Property – The death of Elizabeth Boleyn, Thomas Boleyn’s desire to settle his affairs, his negotiations with Jane over her life interest in the manors of Aylesbury and Bierton and the resulting deal, Thomas Boleyn’s death, Jane’s change of fortunes.
• A Question of Trust – Jane’s desire to return to court, Henry’s disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves, Jane’s return to court and to service, Cromwell’s fall, Jane’s involvement and testimony in the annulment proceedings.

The Path to the Block

• The King’s Jewel – Cromwell’s execution, the King’s marriage to Catherine Howard, Jane’s relationship with the new queen, the Summer progress of 1541 and the King learns of Catherine’s past.
• In the Maidens’ Chamber – Details on the Queen’s upbringing and how the details came to light, the resulting investigation, Catherine’s relationship with Thomas Culpepper and Jane’s involvement, how and why Jane may have become involved.
• “That bawd, the lady Jane Rochford” – Catherine, Culpeper and Jane are imprisoned, details on Catherine and Culpepper’s meetings and Jane’s involvement, Jane becomes the scapegoat, the trials of Culpepper and Dereham, Jane’s despair and breakdown, the Act of Attainder.
• Royal Justice – The executions of Catherine and Jane, eye witness accounts, their burials in St Peter ad Vincula, the Morley family after Jane’s death.
• Epilogue: History Finds a Scapegoat – Julia Fox writes of how Jane’s “posthumous reputation, already tarnished by her relationship with Catherine, deteriorated further: a myth evolved, seeing her execution as a much deserved, if belated, retribution for giving false testimony against her own husband and sister-in-law”. Jane became “the infamous lady Rochford”, the bawd, and Julia looks at how the myths developed and challenges them with primary source evidence. The only thing that Jane was guilty of, according to Julia Fox, was helping Catherine conduct an affair with Thomas Culpepper and she paid the price for that.
• Appendix: The Likeness of Jane Boleyn – A discussion of the chal drawing by Holbein inscribed “The Lady Parker”.

The Appendix is followed by a comprehensive section of notes and references, a bibliography and index, which are vital to researchers and anyone wanting to check the sources used by Julia Fox to back up her theories. I get so annoyed with books that don’t give full references as I love to go back to the primary source.

Looking at my overview of “Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford”, you may be forgiven for thinking that this book is more about the events of Henry VIII’s reign rather than a biography of Jane Boleyn, but you would be wrong. Each event is examined with reference to Jane and how it was a part of her life and how she was involved, we have to look at the context in which she lived to be able to understand her and her actions. If you think that Jane Boleyn was the woman of “The Tudors”, a voyeur and woman who delighted in intrigue and scandal, or if you think that Jane’s execution was karma for her betrayal of Anne and George then you really must read this book, I promise that you’ll change your mind. Anne Boleyn is not the only Boleyn woman who has been maligned, Jane has been too and she too deserves the myths to be corrected, to have justice.

So, would I recommend this book? Yes, it’s one of my favourite Tudor history books. It is factual, accurate, detailed, but more importantly it is highly readable and interesting, it builds up a tangible picture of this woman who has, before now, been shrouded in mystery.

Details

Paperback: 432 pages (UK), 416 pages (US)
Publisher: Phoenix (1 Mar 2008 – UK), Ballantine Books (March 2009 – US)
Language English
ISBN-10: 9780753823866 (UK), 034551078X (US)
ISBN-13: 978-0753823866 (UK), 978-0345510785 (US)

Click on the book cover above to order from Amazon.com or click here. If you are in Europe, “Jane Boleyn” can be ordered from Amazon UK – click here.

Categories: Non-fiction
Tags: Jane Boleyn, Julia Fox, Lady Rochford