Dear Diary (The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn - Robin Maxwell)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn - Robin Maxwell
Date:	13/06/09 (64 review reads)
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As some of you know I have an obsession with Henry VIII and his wives so whilst browsing on Amazon for my next book to read I stumbled across this one and had to have it. I bought a second hand copy that is admittedly tatty but readable, because of this it cost me only a penny plus p&p. My copy was written in 1997 but there is a 2002 version that costs £5.49 new and £1.68 used.

The Secret Diary Of Anne Boleyn is of course a work of fiction. As far as we know Anne Boleyn did not have a diary, mores the pity! The book begins with us meeting her daughter Elizabeth I early on in her reign. She has yet to become the formidable Queen she later was and is still very much the flirty young woman she was in the beginning. An old woman called Lady Sommerville asks to see Elizabeth and when she is granted an audience she hands over this diary.

Elizabeth is portrayed as always believing the lies about her mother, she was a traitor, an alduterer and her beheading was right and just but when she starts reading the diary she realises these claims aren't true and perhaps Henry was at fault.

The diary begins at the point where Anne returns to the English court after spending time at the French court. She is given the empty book by Thomas Wyatt and decides to record her thoughts in it. We then go through the years that follow right up until the day before her beheading. Initially the diary is written as a "dear diary" kind of book but after Elizabeth is born it switches to being a way of Anne communicating with her daughter.

The diary is of course not written daily, that would lead to an enormous book! In between diary entries we read more about Elizabeth and what she's doing and some of Elizabeth's actions are attributed to the diary such as the reason she decided never to marry.

I have to say this is a great concept for a book and it works really well. It isn't a long book at only 250 pages but completely held my interest. Although it is fiction it does contain some truths, the diary entries often reflect on events we know really did happen and this makes it more credible.

I found the entire book interesting and couldn't put it down but I did find some of the sections about Elizabeth and her being a giddy young woman in love with a married man went on a bit long and I was thinking "the diary, let's just get back to the diary!". However I warn you there is a small part at the end of the book that wasn't really necessary and didn't really fit with the rest of the story, you'll know what I mean if you read it!

It's a great semi-fictional read for anyone interested in Anne Boleyn and her life, don't expect alot of detail or completely accurate history and this will provide an interesting read.

Summary: Recommended for some light reading