The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell is a great novel that tells the life of Anne Boleyn from beginning to end. This all starts off when Elizabeth (Anne's daughter) get a hold of her mother's diary from one of her moms waiting ladies and gets to read her mother struggle through life. In my opinion the audience for this novel would probably best suit high school students. I feel the book would grab their attention and they would have a better understanding of what is happening. It would also fit their reading levels. From a sociological standpoint, a value the readers learn is how they used to live at that time period and how they valued different things we value today. We also learned what they believed in and how they socially interacted. What i think the author was trying to accomplish by writing this book was the understanding of Anne Boleyn’s life and some what of Elizabeth’s to. The book shows the struggles they had to face and the complicated decisions they had to make. In my opinion the lesson to be learned or theme would be, choice is change. Now what this means is that once someone makes a choice, things in their and others lives will change and take an effect. For example in the novel Anne made a choice to play with King Henry's feelings which made his passion grow more making her queen. This choice she made effected many others such as King Henry's wife and daughter, Anne's family, Anne, King Henry, and many others. Some of the effects were good but some were also bad. She later on regretted that choice because he fell out of love for her and killed her along with others. Overall i think the book was fantastic and wouldn't change much. I did find some parts to be a little boring and slow but then the author picked it right up making me want to turn the next page. I love how the author adds so much detail to Anne's and Elizabeth's life to show us a glimpse of how they somewhat lived and what obstacles they had to face.
Like so many others, I find Anne Boleyn fascinating. What kind of a woman could make a king so desire her that he was willing to turn his kingdom upside down in order to have her? It amazes me to think how many years she was able to keep Henry interested and chasing after her before she was finally made Queen….and then how quickly after that she met a tragic death. Fascinating.I really enjoyed the format of this book and getting to hear both Anne’s story and little bit of Elizabeth’s, as well. I liked getting to see Elizabeth’s reactions as she was reading Anne’s diary and how it affected some decisions she made at the end of the story. And then I also loved getting a more intimate picture of Anne as we read her diary entries. It’s interesting to see how differently characters feel in the hands of different authors. The only other books on the Tudors I’ve read have been by Philippa Gregory. I felt a lot more sympathetic with Anne in The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn than I did in PG’s books. She was certainly still a manipulator, but I thought PG played up that side of Anne more than Robin Maxwell did. That could also just be due to the fact that we are reading Anne’s diary here, and so it’s her perspective we’re seeing. At any rate, I had a different reaction to her because of that.More than anything, I came away from this book with a huge need to find out more about Anne and about Henry VIII himself. This didn’t begin to satisfy my curiosity, only to increase it. I love books that drive me to research and dig deeper into a subject, seeking out more information. I think I’ll be looking into some biographical and non-fiction reading on the Tudors in order to get a clearer picture of what is fact and what is speculation about their lives.
I picked up this book because I needed something fast and brainless. I didn't want to think, I didn't want to be depressed (I just finished Bret Easton Ellis- enough depression for awhile), and I thought Tudor England would be fun for a minute. No. Not fun. Poorly written, tedious, and I've read this book- or a version of it- before. Only whichever version I've read before was done better. I didn't have the energy to put this book out of my sight and start another, but I should have. The only profound insight I gained from this book (if you can call it that) is that we are obsessed with English scandals. Why? Diana is the latest Anne, or something like that. I can't stretch the metaphor too far, because I mean the "royal we," as evidenced by how little I care about this book- I don't care much about Diana and her love for royalty, either. Maxwell tries to make some profound feminist points through Queen Elizabeth and her mother Anne, "Tomorrow I die because I lusted not for flesh, but to comand my own destiny. This is not a womanly act, I know, but I have oft thought that in this way my spirit is much the same as a man's." But I've heard it before, and much more eloquently. Please, save your head: don't read this book.
—themacinator
"Men love what they can not have and hate what they can not control. I was both to Henry."Queen Elizabeth I has just come to the throne. She is in the middle of a torrid love affair with Robert Dudley. Lady Summerville pays the Queen a visit one day and gives her a diary written by Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth barely knew her mother before she was beheaded and was raised to think that Anne was a traitor. Suddenly, she has an extraordinary chance to learn the truth about her mother from Anne's very own words. She is proud, she is coquettish and all she wants is to be able to control her own life - not to be subject to any man. "Never relinquish control to any man." But in the time that she is living, this is a dangerous way to be and leads to uncertainty for her future. One thing is certain, though, she loves her daughter, Elizabeth.In the author's note, the author says in her research she found that early in her reign, Elizabeth had a sudden change of heart toward her mother and the surviving Boleyns. What would have prompted this? Could she have found out something about Anne that she had never known? This novel exerts one theory. Interesting read.
—Diane
2004- This was my first reading of one of Robin Maxwell's books, and I must say it won't be my last. I already can't wait to read the next two! However, I'm getting ahead of myself. This novel moves back and forth in time from Queen Elizabeth in the present, to her mother, Anne Boleyns', life in the past. Elizabeth is presented with a diary that Anne kept, which chronicles her life right up to very end. Apparently, it was Anne's wish that eventually Elizabeth would read her writings. Elizabeth finds any time she can to sit down and get a glimpse into her mother's life. It's also an escape for her, for in the present she is advised to marry quickly and stop her relationship with Robin Dudley, which is deemed inappropriate. Elizabeth gets to know the parents she never really knew, and uses lessons her mother learned in her current affairs. The writing is detailed, and brings you into both women's lives. And the author never makes the mistake of confusing the reader by not clearly separating the two stories. A recommendation for historical fiction fans.
—Tori
