Anne Boleyn is as intriguing today as she was nearly 500 years ago and what likely made her the most attractive woman at court –if not the lasting icon–was her knowledge, manners and accomplishments.
A friend asked that I list the books which underpinned the research for the Queen Anne Boleyn Paper Doll book. They are vital reading for any Anne aficionado. After all, for Anne herself, it was her books (knowledge) and not her looks which won her favour.
Additionally, it was certainly Anne’s enigmatic and graceful French way-of-being (or “je ne sais quoi”), which made her even more inscrutable. She became an untouchable force. This explains why, despite the fact that she was not the most beautiful woman at court, she was the king’s sole obsession for nearly a decade until they wed and she was crowned the queen of England.
Unlike the typical “English Rose,” she was educated in the two most progressive courts of Europe which were not only held together by some of the most powerful women of the Renaissance, but often frequented by the cutting-edge thinkers, writers and artists of the age.
In the end, though she knew how to make the most of her looks, it was her “otherness,” her brains, and her accomplishments which pushed her to the forefront, producing a fascination which has held our interest for nearly five centuries.
The illustrated biography I created, The Queen Anne Boleyn Paper Doll book, takes the form of an adult colouring book and explores these aspects of Anne Boleyn through an extensive historical narrative thanks to the research from the authors listed in the books below and the “Talking Tudors” podcasts hosted by Natalie Grueninger at onthetudortrail.com :
Bardo, Susan. The Creation of Anne Boleyn: In Search of the Tudors’ Most Notorious Queen. Oneworld, 2014.
Churchill, Lucy. ‘A re-appraisal of the iconography of the choir screen at the King’s College Chapel, Cambridge’
Notes and Queries (2014) doi: 10.1093/notesi/giu012 204-06 Oxford University Press Journals
A re-evaluation of the political significance of the ornate carvings on the choir screen commissioned by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn prior to her execution in 1536.
Churchill, Lucy. “Reconstruction of the Anne Boleyn Moost Happi Medal.” 18 Feb. 2021, www.lucychurchill.com/anne-boleyn-moost-happi-medal-reconstruction/.
Dugan, Holly. The Ephemeral History of Perfume: Scent and Sense in Early Modern England. Johns Hopkins University Press,2011.
Emmerson & Ridgway. The Boleyns of Hever Castle. MADEGLOBAL Pub., 2021
Ives, Eric. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn: The Most Happy. Blackwell, 2009.
Lipscomb, Suzannah. 1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII. Lion Books, 2012.
Mackay, Lauren. Inside the Tudor Court: Henry VIII and his Six Wives through the eyes of the Spanish Ambassador. Amberley, 2015.
Morris, Sarah. Le Temps Viendra. Spartan Publishing, 2013.
Morris & Grueninger. In the footsteps of Anne Boleyn. Amberley, 2015.
Richards, Natalia. The Falcon’s Rise: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. MADEGLOBAL Pub., 2019.
Richards, Natalia. The Falcon’s Flight: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. MADEGLOBAL Pub., 2020.
Vasoli, Sandra. Struck with the Dart of Love. MADEGLOBAL Pub., 2016.
Vasoli, Sandra. Truth Endures. MADEGLOBAL Pub., 2016.
Vasoli, Sandra. Anne Boleyn’s letter from the Tower: A New Assessment. MADEGLOBAL Pub., 2015.
Weir, Alison. The lady in the tower: the fall of Anne Boleyn. Emblem, 2011.
Weir, Alison. Anne Boleyn, A King’s Obsession: A Novel (Six Tudor Queens). Ballantine Books, 2017.
Thank you Rebecca – this is an excellent resource! 🌟
Thank you, Lucy! Your own research is gold. It is so much a part of my book. I’m so grateful for your restoration of Anne Boleyn’s “Moost Happi Portrait Medal” and your discoveries on the Rood Hood in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.
THIS BOOK IS A MASTERPIECE !
WOW WOW WOW WOW !
Thank You For Creating This Gorgeous Work !!!!
Thank you so much! It sounds like you enjoy it as much as I loved creating it!