Placebo Trailer

Placebo- Natalie, Emily O, Maddie P, Sophie

The world was in terrible danger. A horrible disease was killing people off by the thousands, until the government, led by the Surgeon General, found a cure. The cure must be taken four times a day, every day, which seemed a small price to pay for your life. But when Cassandra finds herself without her pills, she will learn that the cure, and the government may not be all that they seem. Cassandra enters the hidden world of underground doctors, forced by the government to hide their trade and serve those that the government will not. An ex-government doctor tell Cassandra a terrible secret, one that, if acted on, will cost Cassandra her life. But is her death the price the world has to pay for freedom?

Capture The Fall- Autumn Walk

Anne Boleyn

This week, I have decided to take a break from my posts about book reviews and history to talk about something that combines both books and history.
As some people probably know, Anne Boleyn is one of my personal heroes. I first learned about Anne from reading various historical fiction books about her daughter, Elizabeth. I never thought much about Anne until I read Doomed Queen Anne, a novel about Anne Boleyn from the author of one of my favorite Elizabeth books, Beware, Princess Elizabeth.
Doomed Queen Anne sparked an interest in Anne Boleyn that has lasted for years. I have read countless fiction and nonfiction books and seen several movies about Anne, and all of them present slightly different portraits of her. For this post, I would like to examine two different fictional portrayals of Anne Boleyn.
First, the basics. Anne Boleyn was born in 1501 at Hever Castle, in Kent. Her father was Lord Thomas Boleyn, a minor English noble, and her mother was Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. She had two siblings, Mary and George. As I will discuss later, the order of birth of the siblings is somewhat disputed, but George was almost certainly younger. Anne was sent to France at a very young age with her sister Mary, and spent most of her youth and early teen years at the court of Francois I. By all accounts, this French education had a heavy impact on Anne. When she returned to England, she eventually caught the eye of Henry VIII, and became his mistress. She convinced Henry to divorce his wife to marry her, and indirectly caused the formation of the Church of England. Unfortunately, Anne was not a popular queen, and when Henry became disenchanted with her following the birth of Elizabeth and the miscarriage of a second male child, the populace easily swallowed stories of her witchcraft and adultery. Anne was arrested on charges of witchcraft, adultery, incest, and treason along with her brother George, Mark Smeaton, a court musician, and Henry Norris. She was executed on May 9th, 1536 at the Tower of London and buried at the church of St. Peter ad Vincula. Henry married his third wife, Jane Seymour, eleven days after Anne's execution.

Doomed Queen Anne- Of all the Anne Boleyn books I've read so far, this one presents the most compelling picture of Anne to me. The Anne in this book is intelligent and calculating. She understands that the only way to survive as a woman in a man's world is to secure the highest position, by marrying the most powerful husband. She uses her differences, such as her unfashionably dark complexion and dark hair, to attract the king's attention. Anne's fall at the end of the book is a result of her temper and the king's infidelity, not any actual misdeeds on her part. This portrayal makes her seem clever and strong, and an exemplary role model for any young girl.

The Other Boleyn Girl (The book and the movie)- The Other Boleyn Girl seems to be the most popular Tudor book of late, despite its historical inaccuracy and unorthodox take on Anne and Mary Boleyn. The book actually centers on Mary, Anne's sister, and is the only account I've ever seen that says that Mary was the younger sister. The Other Boleyn Girl makes Anne seem, quite frankly, evil. She is jealous of her sister's genuine love for the king, she flies into a rage for no reason, and at one point she even takes Mary's two children away from her for no real reason. The book also implies that the charges of incest levied against Anne and George Boleyn are true. Needless to say, I do not like this take on Anne's personality.