Jane Boleyn is the life story of Anne Boleyn’s sister-in-law, Jane Parker. It takes you from her childhood, through marriage to Anne’s brother George Boleyn, his trial and execution for treason and her final downfall with Catherine Howard. The final chapter aims to restore Jane’s reputation, and there’s an appendix considering whether a portrait of ‘Mistress Parker’ was Jane or her brother’s wife.
I found the book unsatisfactory as a history. Although it was supposed to be about Jane Boleyn, most of it was about the events in King Henry VIII’s court. Where Jane was mentioned, there was far too much maybe, possibly, probably, likely/unlikely. I appreciate that women of that time were regarded as less important than men, and there will be fewer direct references to Jane Boleyn by name in documents of the time. But the book still read like just another history of King Henry VIII, and didn’t add much to that.
Another bone of contention is Ms. Fox’s aim to restore Jane Boleyn’s reputation. This attempt takes place in the final chapter of the book. It seems that Jane Boleyn was accused by various historians, with no evidence, of being the cause of Anne Boleyn’s downfall and that of her brother, Jane’s husband. This seemingly ruined Jane’s reputation. Jane wasn’t directly involved in this, but she was involved in Catherine Howard’s extra-marital affairs. So any attempt to restore Jane’s reputation is only going to be partially successful. I found myself wondering why Ms. Fox bothered.
