The only things that are definite are that Jane first attended court as one of Katherine of Aragon's maids and then went on to serve as a lady in waiting to all of Henry's Queens up to and including Catherine Howard. Lots of assumptions that Jane may have attended this, Jane may have seen that, Jane was probably here.

The majority of this book is a re-run of the usual history of Henry's court supposedly from Jane's point of view. All we really know is her involvement in the downfall of two queens and her own execution. We don't know when she was born and only have a vague idea of when she married George Boleyn. This is supposed to be a biography of Jane and it kind of is, but not quite what I was expecting.Īs a girl/woman in Tudor England there is virtually nothing written about her. Jane Boleyn: The Infamous Lady Rochford by Julia Fox - OK This is a non-fiction book that really wants to be a novel, and the story of Jane Boleyn's life is worthy of that. But I understand why it was published without them. It also implies a huge personal appetite for risk, which again, Fox rarely mentioned.Īs a former historian, I'd have preferred more footnotes in the main text in order to deter understand what parts of the narrative were based on direct sources, how much is deduced from incomplete sources, and how much is Fox's guesswork. Personally serving five of Henry VIII's six wives is quite an achievement! Sometimes I felt that Fox underemphasised the amount of political and networking skill this must have taken, given tensions of the era and the very different personalities involved. She certainly had an exciting life, and must have had an interesting personality to go with it. I'm familiar with the story of Henry VIII's wives, but had never previously realised how so many small anecdotes I've heard of involving ladies at court were all about the same woman, Lady Rochford/Jane Boleyn. It was an engaging read, and cleverly written to ensure there were elements of surprise in Jane's story towards the end.

Jane boleyn by julia fox