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Thorns, Lust and Glory

The betrayal of Anne Boleyn

Estelle Paranque author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Ebury Publishing

Published:2nd May '24

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Thorns, Lust and Glory cover

A queen on the edge.

Anne Boleyn has mesmerised the English public for centuries. Her tragic execution, orchestrated by her own husband, never ceases to intrigue. How did this courtier's daughter become the queen of England, and what was it that really tore apart this illustrious marriage, making her the whore of England, an abandoned woman executed on the scaffold? While many stories of Anne Boleyn's downfall have been told, few have truly traced the origins of her tragic fate.

In Thorns, Lust and Glory, Estelle Paranque takes us back to where it all started: to France, where Anne learned the lessons that would set her on the path to becoming one of England's most infamous queens. At the court of the French king as a resourceful teenage girl, Anne's journey to infamy began, and this landmark biography explores the world that shaped her, and how these loyalties would leave her vulnerable, leading to her ruin at the court of Henry VIII.

A fascinating new perspective on Tudor history's most enduring story, Thorns, Lust and Glory is an unmissable account of a queen on the edge.

A fascinating book that sheds new light on one of Tudor history’s most compelling and controversial characters * Tracy Borman *
By focusing on Anne’s role in the diplomatic wrangling, Paranque makes a convincing case that she was not just the seductress of legend, but a strong, intelligent woman who exercised real political power. * Sunday Times *
Paranque brings her trademark mix of serious scholarship and lighthearted prose to that great English obsession: Henry and Anne. She finds new angles, and makes us see that epochal relationship in an exciting new way. * Dan Snow *
In Thorns, Lust and Glory, Estelle Paranque has done something unusual: she has found new things to say about Anne Boleyn. This is a bright and elegantly told story, which shows how Anne’s courtly education outside England allowed her to present as ‘a natural-born Frenchwoman’, then explores how her French connections failed her when enemies began to circle. It is a cracklingly good tale, and essential reading for anyone interested in the treacherous Tudor world of Henry VIII. * Dan Jones *
A provocative, impassioned and empathetic account of England’s most famous queen consort * Gareth Russell *
An empathetic and moving study of a truly captivating Queen. Paranque has unveiled Anne Boleyn as you have never experienced her before. Enthralling. * Owen Emmerson *
Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous of English Queens,and her life and reign has been the subejct of countless works. But in Estelle Paranque's assured hands, Anne emerges from the pages as never before. Paranque is highly compelling in her impressive and rigorous approach to a well traversed narrative, her utter command of undervalued historical context underscoring the more recondite elements of Anne's life, drawing on rare French sources to restore Anne to the very heart of Tudor foreign politics. * Lauren Mackay *

ISBN: 9781529149562

Dimensions: 241mm x 161mm x 28mm

Weight: 526g

304 pages