Thorns, Lust, and Glory by Estelle Paranque

 

With a sub-title of “The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn, this book goes over the well-known conflict between the English King Henry VIII and the Pope. I knew the basics from my previous knowledge of English history and my familiarity with some of the fictional treatments of the struggle in The Royal Gambit and The Lion in Winter.  Paranque’s book concentrates on Anne’s French connections and the secondary struggle of Henry with his French counterpart Francis 1^st.

Lots of names of minor courtiers are mixed in with the well-known personages like Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell. I guess it told me more than I needed or wanted to know about the circumstances leading to Anne’s beheading in a courtyard at the Tower of London on May 19,1536.  

I give it 2 out of 5