Anne Boleyn As You've Never Seen Her Before

To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn

Summary: Meg Wyatt has been Anne Boleyn's closest friend since they grew up together on neighboring manors in Kent. So when twenty-five-year-old Anne's star begins to ascend, of course she takes Meg along for the ride.

Life in the court of Henry VIII is thrilling... at first. Meg is made mistress of Anne's wardrobe, and she enjoys the spoils of this privileged orbit and uses her influence for good. She is young and beautiful and in favor; everyone at court assumes that being close to her is being close to Anne.

But favor is fickle and envy is often laced with venom. As Anne falls, so does Meg, and it becomes nearly impossible for her to discern ally from enemy. Suddenly life's unwelcome surprises rub against the court's sheen to reveal the tarnished brass of false affections and the bona fide gold of those that are true. Both Anne and Meg may lose everything. When your best friend is married to fearsome Henry VIII, you may soon find yourself not only friendless but headless as well.

A rich alchemy of fact and fiction, To Die For chronicles the glittering court life, the sweeping romance, and the heartbreaking fall from grace of a forsaken queen and Meg, her closest companion, who was forgotten by the ages but who is destined to live in our hearts forever.

Review: A new take on Anne Boleyn that paints here in a different light than what she is traditionally viewed.

The author's view on Anne Boleyn is that she is a strong willed person that is inherently seductive, but who honestly loves the king. She is also quite religious, which is something that is shown a little in other fiction books about her. Anne is viewed as very innocent and innocent of the wrong doing that she is accused of. I know that she couldn't have done all that she was accused of, but she certainly could have done some. In short, I prefer reading about an Anne Boleyn who is conniving and scheming. 

I liked the character of Meg. She was sympathetic and kind. The only issue with the story being told from her point of view is that you don't see much of the action related to Anne and the king. It doesn't have as great as an impact. She was very unlucky: an abusive jerk for a father, one jerk brother, a mother who dies, an arranged marriage (which turns out to be not so bad), and an attempted arranged marriage to the man's son. She couldn't catch a break. I am glad she did not lose her head over her friendship with Anne and that she finally had her happy ending. 

Rating:

Recommendation: I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction, especially the Tudors.