The Boleyn Secret
This expansive novel, with its extraordinary breadth of knowledge and scrupulous attention to detail, tells the story of a sidelined Tudor personage, Katherine Carey. It spans the Tudor era of Henry VIII through the early monarchy of Elizabeth I. Katherine (here called Kate) is first introduced as a young girl attending Anne Boleyn during her final days, as a companion to Lady Elizabeth, and as a lady in attendance to Anne of Cleves. She marries Francis Knollys, a true knight, who loves her for life. Married to him, she has fifteen pregnancies with thirteen surviving children.
Through Kate’s eyes, we see her loving family grow up and her management of a Tudor household at Greys Court. Her care of estates and her life as a loving mother contrast well with her negotiation of the dangerous royal court, with its factions and deceptions. The novel poses questions about who her father really was. After all, she has a striking resemblance to her cousin Elizabeth, including her signature Tudor red hair. Moreover, why does King Henry favour Kate above others at court? What are Kate’s own feelings about this narcissistic, unpredictable king? How will Francis, an ardent evangelical, survive and protect his family during Mary I’s Catholic revival? A thrilling section gives us the flavour of exile in Switzerland, separated from the older Knollys children. Whilst exile ends with Elizabeth’s accession, another kind of exile follows once Kate is appointed Lady of the Bedchamber to the possessive Elizabeth I.
This is another Alison Weir masterpiece, a vivid and completely addictive, page-turning novel. Weir brings to life a fascinating woman, utterly transporting us into the past with fluidity of story, beautiful writing, scene-setting and superbly drawn characters. Weir is an accomplished writer who researches thoroughly and fills in the white spaces of history convincingly.
