#not a perfesonial historian just a six fan and history nerd

[kaspenhoward]

Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth the First book written by Tracy Borman commentary:

I recently just finished tackling the 240 pages somber fest of the book written about Anne Bolyen and her daughter and have already started re-reading it, as I read it the initial time I made notes to go along with it, here are some of them:

(Please note these notes are just quotes, comments, jokes, over exaggerated summaries, or stuff I remembered while reading, these are not to be taken seriously as I wrote these to keep it light hearted because the book was tragically sad, I decided to share this with the internet to share my raw opinion and thoughts on this captivating book, note I didn’t really put a filter while writing so these are a bunch of unsolicited thoughts)

Heads up! Spoilers below! Tw for Tudor Era darkness (slight discussion of SA of Elizabeth the 1st and Katheryn Howard)

Page 12 - Anne’s Admiration for and amount of knowledge obtained by Marguerite is impressive, along with her mastery of French. I’m also intrigued that Anne was in the presence among humanist scholars such as Erasmus.

Page 28 - Anne is petty and funny AF, this is the most humorous stuff I’ve read, declaring herself queen before a coronation and obviously hinting at her pregnancy by shouting “she wants apples” is amazing, this is woman is smart, calculating, dangerous, petty, but so so so funny

Page 30 - Anne apparently had another cousin named Katherine (not to be mistaken with K. Howard) who married to Edward Stanley Earl of Derby who was an in-law of Anne’s through her brother George, really keeping it in the family here. Anne also had a like for Yellow Orche.

Page 31 - Anne had Irish and Norman Ancestry.

“Perhaps, too, the fact that the falcon is a bird of prey of which the female is larger than the male appealed to a woman known for her domineering nature” (Borman 31). I don’t understand why I fond this so amusing but I do.

Page 34 - Henry put Anne and her baby’s health at risk simply for showing her off at her coronation, the bastard never cared.

Page 42 - Anne doted and loved Elizabeth from the start even though she was now at risk.

Page 47 - “Aware of the hostile gossip, Anne protected her daughter as fiercely as a lioness her cub — even against members of her own family” (Borman 47). Man that is so freaking cute wth

Page 49 - Mama Bear Anne is the most heartwarming thing ever

Page 50 - More Mama Bear Anne

Page 54 - Elizabeth learned some Welsh

Page 58 - Anne tried to give all that she could to Elizabeth especially knowledge

Page 59 - Apparently both beheaded cousins adore animals, dogs especially

Page 68 - Girl boss Anne supporting education and the poor

Page 70 - Reformist Anne super cool 😎. But no Anne is losing her confidence 🥲

Page 71 - Jane shows up!!! But your writing is good Borman but how dare you call Jane “plain”, she is so much more than that 😤

Page 72 - No! Depressed Anne 😢, you deserve better girlie you’re amazing!!! (Although you could’ve been a bit nicer to Mary..)

Page 75 - Anne has another miscarriage, goodness she must have been so terrified, someone please give her a hug. Jane is also smart and playing one of Anne’s cards.

Page 76 - Mama Bear Anne desperately trying to protect Elizabeth and doting on her 😖 (Can Anne be my mom?)

Page 77 - Bada*s Anne playing people for reform, super cool girl boss

Page 79 - Anne worried about Elizabeth so she picks her up and carries her around in panic, she’s such a protective mum ❤️❤️❤️

Page 80 to 90 - . . .

Henry is the bastard here and deserves worse, poor Anne must’ve been petrified, she didn’t want this she just wanted better religious reforms and to be a mom, this whole situation being put into a perspective for me to imagine just.. breaks my soul, for someone to go through something so inhumane and heart wrenching. Literally abandoned and betrayed by everyone except her Brother and Daughter. And the fact that through the end of it all, about to lose her d*mn head for something she didn’t do, Anne still thinks and puts Elizebeth first.

I’m rendered speechless this is so damn unfair. Anne Boleyn deserved so much better, she did everything she could to survive and still lost the game of living in a life dictated by men. The fact everyone was so freaking bent on killing her that they didn’t even put together a coffin for her is messed up.

Page 88 - The fact that her thoughts are still on Elizabeth when she’s about to lose her life is astounding. I’ve never heard of a mother with such instinct to be able to shut off a fight or flight in a guaranteed death situation simply for the safety of their child.

Page 90 - Anne had her lasting impact. She deserved better and her impact on and creation of Elizabeth, along with her reforms make her one of the greatest monarchs to have reigned in England.

Page 92 - These allegations against Anne are so freaking stupid

Page 93 - “Closeted away at Greenwich, Elizabeth was apparently oblivious to the earth-shattering event that had just taken place five miles away at the tower. She had lost not only her mother, but her place in the royal succession, her importance to her father— and by extension to England. Robbed of her chief protector, hence-forth Elizabeth would be buffeted by the ‘storms and tempests’ of life as a royal outcast” (Borman 93).

. . .

SHE WAS YOUNGER THAN 3!! SHE WAS TWO! WHAT HECK! WHY THE HECK DID THEY STEAL THAT POOR CHILD’S LOVING MOTHER!

Page 96 - I just.. don’t know how to feel no one is there to protect little Elizabeth anymore.. Poor child must have felt so lost and alone

Page 99 - Because her mum was no longer around no one was there to send Elizabeth anymore clothes 😖, do you hear my heart shattering into a million pieces Borman?? Do you???!?!

Page 101 - Baby Elizabeth really wants to know what happened to her mum 🥺. Also wth, in tudor times you’re considered an adult by 6?!?!

Page 102 - “‘The harm done to Elizabeth as a small child resulted in an irremediable condition of nervous shock’ asserted one author. ‘In the fatally vulnerable years she had learned to connect the idea of sexual intercourse with terror and death’” (Borman 102).

Good hecking job Henry, you traumatized her for life!

Page 103 - The loss of her mother left Elizabeth so traumatized she really needs a hug and her mum

Page 112 - Excuse me Borman?? Your attitude towards K. Howard is not appreciated. That was a child who was taken advantage of! But I will hand it to you, I do love that you wrote about the connection between Kitty and Elizabeth.

Page 115 - Ha take that Henry! Like mother like daughter, cunning, smart, and p*ssed with you.

Page 120 to 122 - . . . That is so effed up. Elizabeth was only a child. Nor should she have almost been blamed for it. No one to protect or save her. Anne would’ve lost it if she was still alive.

Page 122 - Elizabeth seems really attached to Kat I’m glad she had someone but sad she lost her

Page 138 - Poor Elizabeth is terrified I also loved the line; “Much suspected by me

Nothing proved can be” (Borman 138).

Page 140 - KATHERINE CARY (Elizabeths Cousin) HAD SIXTEEN KIDS?! HOW IS THAT SURVIVABLE?!

Page 142 - Elizabeths fear of marriage is honestly a little petrifying but relatable and understandable, she went through a lot and saw a lot, having her mom and her step mom being beheaded on charges of being associated by men must’ve fueled this, children learn from their environments

Page 146 - “If Elizabeth was to hold onto the throne, she knew that she would need to focus her efforts on bolstering her legitimacy— something that Anne had not survived long enough to do” (Borman 146). What the heck, must you make me sad at this time of day Borman?? Anne tried so hard for Elizabeth and yet she still lost and Elizabeth had to fight for herself, strong like her mum. 🥺

I love that document lmao, girl bossing just like her mum, “‘I am the most English woman in the kingdom’” (Borman 146). Her majesty is just as prideful and boastful as her mother.

Page 153 - “This was the first time in more than twenty years that Anne had been publicly — and positively — represented. The fact that Elizabeth gave her mother equal status with her father demonstrates not only her loyalty towards Anne but her determination to prove she was the child of a legitimate marriage” (Borman 153). Oh my goodness that is so cute, Elizabeth wants to be proud of her mom while flipping the court off.

Page 154 - “The symbolism could not have been more obvious: the reformed faith, championed by Anne and adopted by her daughter, had triumphed” (Borman 154). It’s really touching seeing Elizabeth continue what Anne could not, her loyalty to her mother is the sweetest thing ever.

Page 155 to 156 - Elizabeth must’ve been horrified but felt seen by such a thing, Ales really did the right thing

Page 157 - “But his words had left a profound impression on the new queen, stoking her already fierce loyalty towards her late mother. It also strengthened her determination to avenge Anne’s death by firmly establishing the religion of which her mother had been such a passionate advocate” (Borman 157). Listening to Six while reading this makes me want to cry, this is just really heartbreaking and touching wth

Page 159 - It must’ve been so refreshing for Elizabeth to learn so much about her mom and to hear nice things about her, the fact she took this to heart is amazing, it really really is cute and touching 💚💚

Page 164 - “Now that she was queen, she felt at liberty to express the reason why she held him in such high esteem: that his father had ‘died in a noble cause and in justification of her mother’s innocence’. This is one of the clearest indications Elizabeth ever gave of just how much Anne Boleyn meant to her. It was also one of the rarest because it was expressed in words, as well as actions” (Borman 164). This really warms my heart, wth Borman, thank you for this.

Page 171 - Kat’s back! And the two are likely half sisters? “Elizabeth ‘loved Lady Knollys above all other women in the world’” (Borman 171). That honestly really is nice and cute. I love that Elizabeth finally has someone. Although I would have preferred if it had been Anne 😶

Page 174 - “She therefore focused her energies on realising Anne’s ambitions by becoming the most successful of Henry’s heir’s” (Borman 174). Yeah you go girl! Get that revenge in your mother’s name!

Page 175 to 177 - Elizabeth being protective over her mother is the cutest thing ever 🥺

Page 179 - NOOO KAT DIES??? Who’s gonna be Elizabeths companion now??

Page 180 - WHAT THE HECK LADY KNOLLYS TOO??? IS SHE JUST NOT MEANT TO HAVE COMPANIONSHIP??!

Page 184 - Oh Elizabeth girlie, I understand you’re queen and you’re not doing well but that’s not okay to do

Page 185 - “Their fickle, changeable nature enabled both mother and daughter to wield greater power than sixteenth-century society would otherwise have allowed them. They did not just break the mould: they shattered it” (Borman 185). Wooo I love this mother daughter duo! Go you girlbosses!!!

Page 193 - “Her [Elizabeth’s] decision to remain the Virgin Queen had been inspired by her mother and it condemned her father’s dynasty to extinction. It is perhaps carrying the argument too far to say that this was a deliberate act of vengeance on Elizabeth’s part, but it certainly handed her mother a posthumous victory” (Borman 193). Omg lmao, imagine being so petty towards your father you end his entire bloodline in retribution.

Page 198 - Poor Elizabeth can’t handle executing people, poor queen is reminded of and needs her mom 😖

Page 199 - “Elizabeth’s confidence as queen was evidently secure enough for her to abandon her former discretion about her mother and celebrate the fact that she was a Boleyn, not just a Tudor. She adopted one of Anne’s mottos, Semper Eadem (‘Always the Same’), which became increasingly prominent in her portraits and documents . . . The queen’s subjects soon realised that complimenting her mother was a sure path to favour” (Borman 199). I love this sososo much, Elizabeth can finally openly and proudly love her mother after years of having to hide it. 💚💚💚

Page 207 - Lmao Elizabeth nicknamed Francis Duke of Anjou and Alençon as “her frog”, goodness 16th century nicknames are hilarious

Page 214 - “It was issued at a time where new Catholic plots in favour of Mary, Queen of Scots were gathering momentum; the queen might have preferred not to draw attention to her scandalous past. But by now, her pride in Anne Boleyn would not be silenced” (Borman 214). AWWW not even fear will scare her out of being proud of her mummy.

Page 216 - “But there was more to it than that. The only other occasion in the long history of English monarchy when an anointed queen had been executed was 50 years earlier. The victim that had been her own mother, Anne Bolyen. The prospect of order the beheading of another queen — one of her own blood — provoked such horror that Elizabeth almost broke down under the strain” (Borman 216). COME ON SOMEONE JUST GIVE HER, HER MUM RIGHT NOW. POOR GIRL IS TRAUMATIZED.

Page 219 - “But the genuine horror that Elizabeth felt at having sent a queen to the same death as her mother would haunt her for the rest of her days” (Borman 219). My heart, how much more can I take? How much more can she take??? Give her, her mum!

Page 223 - NOOO, why is everyone dying on Elizabeth! Girlie is alone enough as it is!

Page 230 to 231 - “His betrayal left her reclusive and fearful. ‘These troubles waste her much’, reported Sir John Harington. ‘She walks much in her privy chamber . . . the dangers are over and yet she always keeps a sword by her table’” (Borman 230-231). Please goodness. Please just have Anne appear and hug her please. For the love of god, just please. She lives her literal entire life in fear, she’s 60, queen, and yet she’s still terrified!

Page 233 - “Familiar guilt over Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution made her cry out in torment. Robert Carey described how she ‘shed many tears and sighs, manifesting her innocence that she never have consent to the death of that Queen’. Thenceforth, Elizabeth lost any desire to go on living” (Borman 233).

… What the heck am I supposed to say to that. This is fricking unfair, give her, her mum! She knows too much about loss that she’s just given up.

Page 235 - Goodbye Queen Elizabeth, shall thou and your mother, Queen Anne, not be forgotten.

Page 238 - That scene of Anne predicting the future in that movie will always be iconic lmao

Page 239 - “She had defied convention — just as Anne had broken the mould of a meek and compliant queen consort. Elizabeth had been the living embodiment of her mother’s legacy and, as queen, she had constantly striven to avenge Anne’s death — and, more positively, to celebrate her achievements” (Borman 239). 🥹 Anne you would be so proud of your little girl.

Page 240 -

The fact they really wanted Elizabeth back when she was gone is a little funny cause they tried to rid of her when she was in power, shows how unappreciative people were of her when she did live.

“It seems that in the story of the Boleyns and the British monarchy, there a few more chapters yet to be written” (Borman 240).

Wow, that’s it, Anne left such a lasting legacy. That amazing woman did that. I didn’t know I’d be so proud of someone who died 500 years ago, but I am. God bless you Queen Anne, forever shall thou be remembered 💚

_Post reading analysis_

Starting my second read of this book I took notice it’s likely best to write all my unsolicited thoughts before I develop new opinions with my second read.

Both Elizabeth and Anne Bolyen are tragedies within themselves, involving themselves in the tudor political environment whilst being women, damning them from the start. The difference is, Anne willingly entered the game and lost, while Elizabeth was born into it but won, albeit with lots of setbacks and significant losses on the way. These two very influential women in history are so significantly close and influential for one another for only having been in each other’s lives for 2 and a half years. Elizabeth at the age of two lost her protector for when she was alive, did everything she did in her power for her daughter. Elizabeth at a young age wouldn’t see much impact by this except the discussion of her legitimacy but as she grew, without her mother to protect her, she began to face the horrors of life as a tudor era woman. From being sexually assaulted by her stepfather Thomas Seymour to being locked up in the tower of london twice by her siblings, awaiting death there just like her mother, to thankfully survive and make it to queen hood just to have assignation attempts directed at her and an entire continent against her reign whilst her short list of companions slowly died off until she gave up. Yes the rule of Queen Elizabeth the First was glorious and brought upon the golden age of England, but it also wasn’t easy. Elizabeths life was not easy by any means and without her mother to guide and protect her it must have been even more rough. But the little pieces of Anne that Elizabeth kept makes my heart happy, the ring of their portraits, Anne’s Falcon, and defense of her mother. There’s so much of Elizabeth I know Anne would be proud of, Elizabeths smarts and personality resembling Anne’s. If I was Anne, I’d be cheering Elizabeth on proudly from the afterlife until I saw her again. This book is one of the most beautiful and captivating pieces of history I’ve ever read of. The number of information also gathered about Anne makes my soul happy, knowing the intelligent french-like reformist who produced the best queen in english history will not be forgotten. No one deserves to be forgotten or separated from their loved ones. Hearing their story fills my heart and breaks it. If only the two had more time.

I rank this book a 10/10, I would say “I’d read it again” but I currently am reading it again. Never did I think this book was gonna be that good.