Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A sweeping portrait of Mary Boleyn, sister to Queen Anne and mistress to Henry VIII—and one of the most misunderstood figures of the Tudor age, from the renowned author hailed as “the finest historian of English monarchical succession writing” (The Boston Globe)“This nuanced, smart, and assertive biography reclaims the life of a Tudor matriarch.”—Publishers WeeklyONE OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARHistory maligned her. The truth is far more fascinating.Sister to Queen Anne Boleyn, she was seduced by two kings and was an intimate player in one of history’s most gripping dramas. Yet much of what we know about Mary Boleyn has been fostered through garbled gossip, romantic fiction, and misconceptions repeated by historians. Now, in Mary Boleyn, Alison Weir debunks much of the mythology that surrounds the so-called “great and infamous whore” and uncovers the truth about one of the most misunderstood figures of the Tudor age. Weir shares revelations on the ambitious Boleyn family and the likely nature of the relationship between the Boleyn sisters. She offers plausible theories as to what happened to Mary during the undocumented years of her life, and shows that, far from marrying an insignificant and complacent nonentity, she made a brilliant match with a young man who was the King’s cousin and a rising star at court. Unraveling the truth about Mary’s much-vaunted notoriety at the French court and her relations with King François I, Weir also explores Mary’s role at the English court and how she became Henry VIII’s lover. She tracks the probable course of their affair and investigates the truth behind Mary’s scandalous reputation. With extensive original research and compelling evidence, Weir presents the most conclusive answer to date on the paternity of Mary’s children, long speculated to have been Henry VIII’s progeny. Read more