Brief Gaudy Hour: A Novel of Anne Boleyn [ペーパーバック]

This is a wonderful work of historical fiction in which the author weaves gossamer threads of fact and fiction around Anne Boleyn, one of the most intriguing and enigmatic women who ever lived. She was a woman who would change the face of England by holding out for a crown that she would wear for a scant three years. Her will to be crowned a Queen would pave the way for the Reformation to take root in England.

About a third of the book is devoted to establishing Anne's relationship to her family, friends, and early admirers. It details her first love affair, that with Henry Percy, the heir to the Earl of Northumberland, said to have been the love of her life, until Cardinal Wolsey, at the behest of King Henry VIII, nipped it in the bud, causing him to incur Anne's lifelong enmity. This portion of the book sets the tone for the rest of the book, grounding the events that were to follow in the context out of which they arose.

When King Henry VIII finally made his intentions clear, Anne had no interest in ending up as the King's discarded mistress, as had Mary, her younger sister. Instead, she led King Henry VIII a merry chase for many years, refusing to become his mistress despite his ardent wooing. He became bewitched by her very being, so irresistible did he find this cultivated and intelligent young woman. Anne, however, always kept her eye on the prize, seemingly oblivious to the pain that she was causing her rival, Katharine of Aragon, Henry's wife and Queen of England.

Henry, who was desperate to secure a male heir for the throne of England, eventually set in motion a series of events that were to have great ramifications for Catholicism in England. It would cause Henry to set aside his wife of twenty years so that he could marry Anne Boleyn and have her crowned Queen of England. It would set the stage for the Reformation in England. It would also bring about the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, the man for whom Anne had no love and in whose destruction she positively reveled.

Without the cautionary, staying influence of Wolsey, however, Anne would find herself unable to rein in her husband. She would see him begin to turn from a loving husband and genial king into the tyrannical despot he would eventually become. She would find herself powerless against him and without influence but would not realize it until it was too late. When Anne failed to deliver the promised male heir, having only given him the Princess Elizabeth, she found that he wished to rid himself of her by any means necessary. After having been Queen of England for nearly three years, Anne would be convicted of treason of the foulest sort and condemned to die a traitor's death.

This well-written book is one that those who like historical fiction will enjoy. It is rich with period detail, replete with all the pomp and circumstance of the Tudor court. It also paints a well-drawn portrait of one of the most fascinating women in history.

"Brief Gaudy Hour" will always remain by far my favourite tale of Anne Boleyn. Indeed, there are some historical inaccuracies as it was first published in 1949 before the advent of several definitive Boleyn biographies, but the author has an engaging style and a keen eye for rich period detail. I first devoured this rather surprisingly sexy book over 30 years ago and I can still recite some of its more dramatic sentences. It is a must-read for Anne fans. I am perhaps most impressed by the book's restrained ending. Margaret Campbell Barnes does not over extend the story but simply ends it with the exact minute of Anne's death - "And in that moment, mercifully, the French executioner swung his sharp sword and struck." Wonderful stuff. The author's sympathy for Anne and for many of those who surrounded her "verily" shines through. The book launched me on a life time journey into Tudor history and I will never forget the awe I felt when tracing the entwinned H&A hidden in a stone archway in Hampton Court.

I spent over a year searching for this book and when I finally got my hands on it I couldn't have been more satisfied. I found the story romantic and clever and I absolutely fell in love with the character of Nan Bolyn. The author ingeniously mingles wit and elegance with tragedy. And even though my history lessons had already reveiled her inevitable outcome, I found myself in high hopes for Nan. I cried at the end.