Saturday, April 13, 2013

A Very Un-Anne Boleyn Anne Bolyen

In the Shadow of Lions: A Novel of Anne Boleyn (Chronicles of the Scribe #1) by Ginger Garrett

Summary: "I am the first writer, The Scribe. My books lie open before the Throne, and someday will be the only witness of your people and their time in this world. The stories are forgotten here, and the Day draws close. I will tell you one of my stories. You will record it."

So begins the narration of one such angel in this sweeping historical tale set during the reign of England's Henry VIII. It is the story of two women, their guardian angels, and a mysterious, subversive book . a book that outrages some, inspires others, and launches the Protestant Reformation.

The devout Anne Boleyn catches the eye of a powerful king and uses her influence to champion an English translation of the Bible—Scriptures the common people could read for themselves. Meanwhile, Rose, a broken, suicidal woman of the streets, is moved to seek God when she witnesses Thomas More's public displays of Christian charity, ignorant of his secret life spent eradicating the same book, persecuting anyone who dares read it.

Historic figures come alive in this thrilling story of heroes and villains, saints and sinners, angels and mortals ... and the sacred book that will inspire you anew.


Review: An extremely unrealistic and unbelievable portrayal of Anne Boleyn.

I snagged this as a free Kindle read and since I had previously added this book to my tbr shelf on Goodreads, I was excited to read this. I know the book is shelved as Christian fiction on Goodreads, which didn’t bother me since I was expecting a truly religious Anne Boleyn as I’ve read in at least one book before. What I got was an Anne Boleyn that didn’t want to marry Henry VIII (which I could believe to certain extent) and a family who were saying how she was trashing their good name.

Everything I’ve learned about the Boleyn’s has shown them to be a family that eagerly grabs for power in any way that they can. Anne could have easily been another lover of Henry’s like her sister was, but they pushed for marriage for years and years. They would have not been saying that Anne was trashing their good name. Also, the time period in this book is squashed down to a year, maybe more, which distorts the actual story of Anne holding off the king for years and the marriage that lasted a few years. You miss out on a lot. The aspect of the Scribe and Rose’s tale added very little to the story and could have been removed.  

Rating:






Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those interested in reading a very different portrayal of Anne Boleyn.

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