The Concubine: A Novel

I enjoyed reading this book. It offered some insights about Anne Boleyn that I hadn't realised before, that is to say, how her charm appealed to the King and her contemporaries alike. Norah Lofts is one of my favourite authors and her books never disappoint. The print of the book was easy to read and size good for putting in handbag or by bedside table, I would recommend it.

I read this book in the early 1970's and still have my old copy. Trouble is, it's falling to bits, hence I wanted another copy. I've always loved Norah Lofts, and have many of her books. This is one of my all-time favourites. I just think that this is one of the best portrayals of Anne Boleyn ever written. Norah Lofts really gets under her skin - and that of the other players in Anne's tragedy. She wites sympathetically but never sentimentally. If you loved the TvVseries, Wolf Hall, then please try this. It's excellent.

I have read many books about Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, so, while I always know how the story ends, I do still expect to be entertained. Upon starting this novel I was pleased, though one huge discrepancy really bothered me. I realize this is a fiction novel, and I've seen many authors tweak a story here and there to make it more exciting, or to change some dates around a bit, but I just could not figure out why Ms. Lofts decided to invent a Stepmother for the Boleyn children? Anne Boleyn's mother did NOT die when she was a child. Her father, Thomas Boleyn was married to only one woman in his life...the Lady Elizabeth Howard. Elizabeth Howard Boleyn was the mother of Anne, Mary, and George, and she did not die early. In fact, she outlived Anne and George by two years, dying in 1538. This is documented and very well known, so I just can't imagine why the author decided to make such a big change in Anne's family life. This aside, I really enjoyed the story. As far as I could tell, the rest of the book appeared to be historically accurate, and Ms. Lofts portrayal of Anne was one of the most human and realistic that I've read. So many authors paint her to be a shrewd, power-hungry, social climber...and to some extend she WAS, but it wasn't ALL of her. Others take a more gossipy, tabloid-type approach to their telling of the story, which can be ridiculous at times. Reading this book actually had me feeling a little sympathy toward her, something I've never really felt. I still believe that, in the end, Karma got her. Her treatment of Catherine and Mary was terrible. While she may not have outwardly done anything to them, she was the one feeding her hateful ideas to Henry, who then implemented them. Spiteful ideas such as separating mother and daughter, leaving them both nearly destitute and poor, and the biggest slap-in-the-face...forcing Mary to serve the Princess Elizabeth. Under her subtle cruelty though, Anne was just a wronged girl of gentle upbringing who was offered the moon and the stars. Who wouldn't take them? After being blocked from marrying the love of her life (a move the King himself ordered because Anne had caught his attention), Henry began pursuing Anne in earnest. Seeing how her sister was cast aside after giving into Henry's lust, she chose to keep her dignity and do what no other women had done...tell King Henry VIII of England 'No'. It was Henry (at least as it was told here) who offered Anne the crown. That he'd put Catherine aside, and make Anne Queen of England. Well, after being told that she KNEW she had to continue to hold him off, otherwise, why bother making her Queen when he could keep her as his mistress? Little did either of them know Anne's journey to the throne would take NINE long years, and at the end of it, Henry would grow to hate her, which would ultimately lead to her death. Overall, I ab...

If you love things Anne Boleyn and perhaps missed this splendid novel written 50 years ago, grab it and savor its riches! Norah Lofts has enriched her novel with wonderful personalities, such as Emma Arnett the maid who accompanies Anne after Anne is more or less wrenched from the arms of Harry Percy. Emma, aging at 40 years old, taciturn, seething with resentments sizes Anne up and it is through her eyes that we first see Anne. Emma will be at Anne's side to the very last and it is she who ties the blindfold over Anne's eyes before the swordsman strikes. Under cover of darkness, she and her companions will take Anne's body back to her home and Anne's- to Norfolk- and lay her to rest among their ancestors. Lofts brings the personalities surrounding Anne to vibrant life. Anne's step-mother, Lady Boleyn, comically called Lady Bo (because Anne's brother, George called her that, not being able to bring himself to call her mother) is a major character and she is absolutely delightful. Wolsey is as you'd expect, plumped up with pride, pulling the strings, rather like a satisfied but vulnerable spider. Henry is charming at times, but becoming unpredictable loose cannon, a man of mercurial and dark moods, a tyrant, a destroyer. We see the weak and vacillating Pope Clement in Rome, agonizing over Henry's divorce dilemma. We see Henry's physician, Dr. Butts hurrying at the King's orders to attend Anne, who has the sweat, but secretly hoping she will die. We see poor Catherine, who actually loved Henry, shoved aside, implacable as a stone, but a stone weeping inside. And we see Anne, herself, small, frail, all eyes and hair, but with the determination of a bulldog, a capacity for virile hatred (Wolsey) nevertheless bewitchingly feminine, graceful and courageous, the lynchpin of Henry's court. Norah Lofts' Anne is so very human, but so amazingly modern, really, you'll almost forget she lived almost 500 years ago. She is a free thinker and a self-made woman in a day when women were second class. You'll root for her, agonize with her. "The Concubine" is a wonderful Tudor feast, a tapestry so rich you'll have a hard time getting back to the twenty first century when you close the book.