The Boleyn family has always been an intriguing one and this book aims to give us more of an idea about Jane, the wife of George Boleyn. History has her down as the woman who was responsible for the executions of Anne and George Boleyn and also as the go-between for Catherine Howard and her lover which ultimately led to both hers and Catherine’s deaths. There is not a great deal of material about Jane Boleyn but the author paints and interesting picture of a woman who may or may not have deserved the reputation history has given her. An interesting read even if some of it is based on what the author believes ‘may’ have been the case.
Jane Rochford was sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn and Lady of the Bedchamber to Katherine Howard, whom she followed to the scaffold in 1542. Hers is a life of extraordinary drama as a witness to and participant in the greatest events of Henry's reign.
She arrived at court as a teenager when Katherine of Aragon was queen. Even before Henry's marriage to Anne, her own marriage to George Boleyn brought her into the closest royal circles - and there she remained through the unfolding spectacle and tragedy of Henry's succession of marriages. She survived the trauma of Anne and George's executions and despite briefly being banned from Court managed to regain her place there to attend on Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves.
Her supposed part in both Anne Boleyn's and Katherine Howard's downfall has led to her being reviled through centuries.
In this fascinating biography Julia Fox repudiates the idea of the infamous Lady Rochford and Jane emerges as a rather modern woman forced by brutal circumstance to fend for herself in a politically lethal world.
Julia Fox has done her best to resuscitate Jane Boleyn's reputation" DAILY MAIL
"Although Jane Boleyn is written with scrupulous regard for fact, it has the pace and colour of an historical novel" SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
"This is a gripping book... wonderfully readable" THE TABLET
Author
About Julia Fox
Julia Fox is a historical researcher and teacher. She is married to the distinguished Tudor historian and broadcaster John Guy. She lives in north London.
