Jane Boleyn: the True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford

Julia Fox

★ ★

Apparently this is the second time I've read this book.... You might think this would be a good thing, however, rereading it only meant that it was obviously worth forgetting..... That being said:

This book is not so much the story of Jane Boleyn, as it is about Henry VIII, the Boleyns themselves, & the subsequent three wives of Henry VIII. As Jane Boleyn was on the sidelines there was not much known or written about her, so this book is mostly supposition about what would have been Jane's part in the Tudor Dynasty as a member of the court.

It is known that Jane was interrogated regarding the relationship of her husband, George Boleyn, with his infamous sister Anne... but there are no remaining records of what she actually said. Most other books make her out to be a jealous shrew.... This book explains what her role would have been as being one of the Queen's women, but not who she was as a person or her actual interactions with Anne.

There are no diaries, no letters, nothing much to support who she really was as a person..... If I had wanted to read in minute detail about the Boleyns, their rise & fall from power then I'd have rated this book much higher than I did. But as I wanted to know more about Jane herself.... This book fell very short and I was very disappointed.