A queen on the edge.
Anne Boleyn has mesmerised the English public for centuries. Her tragic execution, orchestrated by her own husband, never ceases to intrigue. How did this courtier’s daughter become the queen of England, and what was it that really tore apart this illustrious marriage, making her the whore of England, an abandoned woman executed on the scaffold? While many stories of Anne Boleyn’s downfall have been told, few have truly traced the origins of her tragic fate.
In Thorns, Lust and Glory, Estelle Paranque takes us back to where it all started- to France, where Anne learned the lessons that would set her on the path to becoming one of England’s most infamous queens. At the court of the French king as a resourceful teenage girl, Anne’s journey to infamy began, and this landmark biography explores the world that shaped her, and how these loyalties would leave her vulnerable, leading to her ruin at the court of Henry VIII.
A fascinating new perspective on Tudor history’s most enduring story, Thorns, Lust and Glory is an unmissable account of a queen on the edge.
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Thorns, Lust and Glory: The Story of Anne Boleyn offers a fresh and captivating perspective on one of Tudor England’s most enigmatic figures. Anne Boleyn, whose life and tragic death have fascinated historians and the public alike for centuries, is brought to life in this compelling biography that traces her journey from a courtier’s daughter to the queen of England, and ultimately, to the scaffold. Paranque skillfully examines Anne’s early life, particularly her formative years in France, to explore how these experiences shaped the woman who would become Henry VIII’s most controversial wife.
One of the most impressive aspects of Thorns, Lust and Glory is Paranque’s focus on Anne’s time in the French court. This period of Anne’s life is often glossed over in other biographies, but Paranque brings it to the forefront, arguing that it was in France that Anne developed the skills, charm, and political acumen that would later captivate Henry VIII. At the French court, Anne was exposed to a sophisticated culture of courtly love, intellectual debate, and political strategy, all of which she would later use to her advantage in England. Paranque vividly depicts the French court as a place of both opportunity and danger, where Anne honed her abilities but also where she learned the harsh realities of court life—lessons that would both elevate and then doom her.
Paranque’s portrayal of Anne is nuanced and empathetic. Rather than depicting her simply as a victim of Henry VIII’s whims or as a scheming temptress, Paranque presents Anne as a complex and resourceful woman who was deeply influenced by her upbringing and experiences. Anne’s time in France, Paranque suggests, not only gave her the tools to rise to power but also left her with vulnerabilities that would later be exploited by her enemies at the English court. This duality is central to Paranque’s interpretation of Anne’s life, making this biography both a study of her strengths and a poignant exploration of her tragic flaws.
The book also provides a compelling analysis of the forces that led to Anne’s downfall. While many accounts focus on the immediate events leading to her execution—her inability to produce a male heir, the rise of Jane Seymour, and the political machinations of her enemies—Paranque traces the origins of Anne’s fate back to her early alliances and the lessons she learned in France. This approach offers a broader and more complex understanding of why Anne ultimately became the “whore of England” in the eyes of her detractors and why Henry, who had once moved heaven and earth to marry her, so ruthlessly discarded her.
CAROLINE ANGUS 