Mistress Anne download epub

This is a sane account of Anne Boleyn’slife
Writers tend to get hysterical when confronted with Anne ...but this recounts known facts and then describes what probably was happening as indicated by events
Not as much fun as some other books about Anne but this would be a good companion read with something like The Other Boleyn Girl (a wonderful read)

Loved the way she writes the history especially that she lets you know if the person she is getting the information from was a friend or foe of Mistress Anne. Erickson's vocabulary was quite refreshing! So many authors have a relatively narrow selection in their writing, but not Erickson!

I read "Mistress Anne" after finishing Hilary Mandel's "Bring Up the Bodies", because I wanted to learn more about the Anne Boleyn. It took me a while to get used to the biographical format, but I found the subject fascinating. I only gave the book 2 stars because of the inordinate amount of typographical errors (words run together, incomplete paragraphs, etc.). I started bookmarking the pages and found an error on almost every page. I found this distracting and it took away from the flow of the story. We also have another book by Caroly Erickson on our Kindles, "Bloody Mary", I hesitate to read it because my husband tells me that there numerous editing errors in this book, as well.

The book is in excelent conditions. I'm really happy with my purchase :)

Not in good shape.

I read some of then reviews and can understand some of the negativity. I got this book free at the library and almost finished with it. I found it easy to read-it had a flow to it and who can state the actual story of Anne Boleyn is anything but boring. I also learned a little of the day-to-day life during the time-such as beauty secrets of the women back then, childbirth, religion and so on...that being said, the only important thing is the author used "rumors" as facts -or so it seemed when reading this.
One rumor was that Anne Boleyn had six fingers. The story of Boleyn’s extra digit most likely originated in a book by the Catholic propagandist Nicholas Sander. Sander never saw Boleyn in person, critics argue that it’s unlikely that such a seemingly ugly woman would have captured the affections of a would-be playboy like Henry VIII. It seems by the author making a few "rumors" almost seem true is tainting Boleyn's reputation even to this day.
I say, enjoy the book-it's easy to follow and a nice book to read on a lazy Sunday...there are better books out there but I still enjoyed it.

I found this book at the library, and liked it. There's a fair bit of speculation, but I think there's a wealth of factual information. I think the book could have been more sympathetic to Anne. I don't think she had a lot of great choices. She wasn't raised to be a Queen and I think her biggest problem was she didn't really understand the separation of the King as a head of state as well as her husband. She really didn't understand that role for herself. There are just certain things you can't really say when you are a Queen. I do think as she was not having a boy, she became desperate and wanted to kill Mary and Katherine. She should have kept that to herself. I think that's when Henry REALLY started to get scared and paranoid. He was not well liked at the time. I think he missed Thomas More, and Wolsey. I also think Katherine helped him a lot with problems of state, which Anne really wasn't qualified or trained to help with.

this book although alot longer than the brief paragraphs i've read about Anne Boleyn,doesn't give alot of new info.One interesting interpretation presented though seems to indicate that Henry the 8th may not have wanted Anne executed but more pushed aside as he had previously done with Queen Catherine. Erickson gives a strong case that the execution of Anne may have been pushed forward by Henry's advisors who were afraid of Anne's influence over the king.It seems by this book that the Archbishop of Canterbury,Thomas Cranmer and the king's right hand man,Thomas Cromwell,wanted Anne Boleyn and her friends and family at court out of the picture(permanently). This way there would be no way the Boleyn's could reenter the picture with a bigger hand.One of the lessons of the Wars of the Roses was that too often leaving political enemies to "lick their wounds"was a certain way to lose one's head (on the block)!The Boleyn family had spent about twenty years living in the French court at Paris when relations between France and England were a scant better,Anne's father was a French diplomat for Henry the 8th.It seems the English public believed Anne had picked up some permiscuous habits during her years there and craftily used them to entice and capture Henry's heart.Whether it was true or not didn't matter,and given this Anne was off on the wrong foot right from the start.Not to mention she had supplanted the popular Queen Catharine. One slip by the Boleyn's and it wouldn't be hard to imagine the consequences,both the"man (or woman)in the street and the king's advisors against the Boleyn's from the outset.The book emphasized the family of Anne Boleyn and their rise and fall in Henry's capricious court.A dangerous place to be. Another interesting part of the book deals with how the women of the king's court would make themselves desirable to capture the men's favor.It actually seems they treated their skin with mercury and white lead to give themselves that"wasted by amours" look.Looking good for a few brief years was more important than a long life for them. Beneath all the pomp and jollity of Henry's court there were alot of corpses."Great Harry" comes off as an almost certain mean spirited alcoholic covered with a thin veneer of hospitality and hardy har-har.The Boleyn's according to what I read from Erickson's book knew the stakes they were playing and overestimated their ability to "thrive and survive". Primary sources in regard to the Boleyn's are rare,and i'll bet Henry's "buddies" had alot to do with it so we'll never know the complete story but this book is about as good as will ever be found.The assertion about Anne's lose morals by Henry were probably not true but a classic case of pointing the finger,that is three pointing back at the lecherous Henry.