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I have to admit, my first thoughts about another book on Anne Boleyn was “oh great, another book about Anne Boleyn”. But when I saw that the book was told from the viewpoint of one of Anne’s close friends, I was immediately more interested. How exciting it must be to see your friend rise higher than high – and then how devastating to have to sit back and watch helplessly as it all crashes to the ground.

The poet Thomas Wyatt is fairly well known due to his fascination with Anne and the poetry that resulted from it. But probably less known are his sisters. Sandra Byrd chooses as her narrator the youngest Wyatt, “Meg” and the result is a satisfying look at an often told story through a new set of eyes.

As neighbors in the Kent countryside as young girls, Anne and Meg spend their days riding horses and sharing secrets. Meg is a little bit of a free spirit and her father, who fought against Richard III and was imprisoned and tortured, is hard on his daughter and hopes that one day she will behave like a proper lady and made a good marriage. While Anne is sent to court and into the service of the king’s sister, Mary Tudor, Meg has her heart captured – and broken – by Will Ogilvy, who decides he has been called into the priesthood. Meg finds her faith and confidence in her religion shaken as she prepares to settle into life as the wife of an aging baron.

But when Anne begins her meteoric rise at court, she wants someone she trusts with her and so Meg finds herself in the middle of history. There really isn’t anything new here with regard to Anne. But what kept my interest in the story was the relationship between the two friends. There is no question that Meg loves Anne like a sister and is extremely loyal to her. But she is also able to see the flaws - and at times the fear - beneath Anne’s calm exterior and she isn’t afraid to point them out from time to time as well as a dose of reality.

Through Meg’s life we are also given a look at the behind the scenes world of the court – the intrigues, secrets, scheming and self-preservation that seems to dictate everything that everyone does or says as well as the role of a queen’s lady-in-waiting. I liked Meg quite a bit and thought her story provided a nice counterbalance to Anne’s and gave me a new “story” to discover. In her “Author’s Note, Byrd indicates some changes she made in names (for clarity due to too many people with the same name) and some potential confusion that exists regarding the Wyatt sisters (names, ages and parentage).

One thing that really makes this book different than most is the emphasis on religion. For a book written by a “Christian historical fiction” writer and published by a “Christian” publisher, that shouldn’t come as a surprise and I was a little hesitant about reading it. But in thinking about it, I decided that its use was probably appropriate since religion was a very important part of people’s lives at the time and the reliance on a passage of scripture for comfort, strength or guidance is what they would have done. I didn’t think the religious references were heavy handed and I didn’t feel like I was being preached at as I was reading. Kudos to Byrd for pulling that off!

At times, the attempt to use language from the period (“mayhap”, “methinks” for example) is clunky and awkward and doesn’t fit with the surrounding words. But that aside, To Die For is a powerful and entertaining look at friendship and loyalty in world where usually, neither is what it seems.



In case the FTC asks: I was sent a copy by the publisher.