Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

Since the story of Anne Boleyn seems to remain a popular one in historical fiction, the challenge for historical fiction writers is to find a new or fresh angle to present to readers. In her debut historical novel, Anne Barnhill chooses a figure from her own family tree as the main character – Margaret Shelton. Margaret – or Madge as she is commonly referred to – was one of Anne’s cousins on her father’s side and when the family finds one of their own Queen of England, Madge is called to court to be a lady in waiting.


Barnhill is fairly sympathetic to Anne but she is not perfect – kind and good-hearted most of the time, she can be selfish and inconsiderate when the mood strikes her. As she becomes more desperate over securing her own future and her insecurities rise, it is her trusted cousin she turns to in the hopes of controlling her husband’s increasingly wandering eye. It is a big sacrifice and one that may potentially jeopardize her own happiness, but Madge is devoted to Anne and so she agrees to become the king’s mistress. Nothing like keeping it in the family!

As Madge becomes one of the queen’s main confidantes, a more intimate portrayal of Anne develops as she confesses her hopes and fears to her cousin and the two women navigate through quickly changing situations and shifting loyalties. Madge also tries to avoid the attentions of her betrothed, Henry Norris, in favor of an illegitimate son of Charles Brandon – Arthur, who Madge initially calls “Sir Churlish”. That nickname doesn’t bode well for their relationship which develops slowly over the course of the book.

There is one thing in particular that annoyed me – the use of some antiquated language (anon, prithee etc as well as some old fashioned sentence structure). Although it may have been an attempt to make the characters sound more authentic, to me it came off as gimmicky. Had the entire book been written that way it actually might have worked better since I probably would have gotten used to the language; instead, it was very random and distracting.

Overall, a good book – quick and easy to read and nice to see the focus on a figure who is usually only mentioned in passing and relegated to the shadows of the Tudor court.



In case the FTC asks: I received a copy from the publisher as part of the author's blog tour.