This definitive full biography of Anne Boleyn, based on the latest scholarly research, focusses on Anne’s life and legacy and establishes Anne as a figure of considerable importance and influence in her own right.

    Even after her execution in May 1536, on trumped-up charges of adultery, her reputation has been pursued beyond the grave, subjected to all manner of accusation. The unsavory account of her life that has come down through history is one shaped by her enemies. Joanna Denny's powerful new biography presents a radically different picture of Anne-a woman who was highly literate, accomplished, and a devout defender of her Protestant faith. Her tragedy was that her looks and vivacious charm attracted the notice of a violent and paranoid king and trapped her in the vicious politics of the Tudor court, where a deadly game was being played between the old nobility and the new, between the old faith and the new. Denny's compelling account of Anne Boleyn plunges the reader into the heart of the intrigue, romance, and danger of the Tudor court and the turbulent times that changed England forever. It will change forever our perception of this much-maligned queen.

    From surviving catalogues, which tell us what books he had, it is clear he was deeply involved in theological debate and monastic history, especially when moving to the break with Rome. At the same time, he was a Humanist scholar ahead of his time in all the liberal arts, especially music and poetry. Equally, most of his wives were also avid readers who collected a variety of books.In this important new work, leading scholar James P. Carley describes Henry VIII's books and their significance for a deeper understanding of this seemingly familiar monarch and his wives. The extensive illustrations allow us to examine the binding and content of the collection, as well as providing some examples of marginalia in Henry's own hand.

    Soundly based on a multitude of sources, including many original plans and surveys as well as recent archaeological evidence, the book begins with the earliest Court built by Lord Daubeney in the 15th century; a structure that has almost entirely disappeared. Thurly goes on to examine the plans and structures of Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII and the Tudors, demonstrating how the rapid and sometimes astonishing turns in Henry's private life' impacted on his building programme at Hampton Court. The book compares and contrasts the use of the Court by the Stuarts, who largely regarded it as a place for entertainment and hunting, before examining its transformation under William and Mary who saved it from a long decline. The evolution of the gardens, the embellishments of the Georgians, the destruction of the Victorians, the influx of tourists and the conservation efforts of today are all illustrated and authoritatively discussed by the Chief Executive of English Heritage.