The Queen's Promise by Lyn Andrews

The Queen's Promise

by Lyn Andrews

From bestselling author Lyn Andrews comes a compelling historical epic set at the endlessly fascinating Tudor court about the most infamous woman of the age - Anne Boleyn - and the man who loved her before she became queen.

From the moment Henry Percy, future Earl of Northumberland, glimpses the beautiful Anne Boleyn he is captivated and quickly proposes marriage Anne has been taught to use her charms to her advantage and to secure her family's position of power at court. She sees that Henry Percy's affection is sincere and agrees to marry him.

But a match of the heart has no place in a world where marriage is a political manoeuvre. Torn apart, the lovers are exiled to separate ends of the kingdom. For Henry a lifetime of duty awaits, while he remains true to the only woman he will ever love. But he is not the only man to be bewitched by Anne. And when King Henry VIII determines to make her his queen, the course of history is changed for ever...

Reviewed by SilverThistle on

3 of 5 stars

Share
Anne Boleyn's life and subsequent death have been the subject of many, many books. She was a fascinating woman and her story makes for a riveting read.

There can't be many angles left which haven't already been explored to tell her story but The Queen's Promise seems to have found a refreshing one. It's told mostly from the viewpoint of Sir Henry Percy and his squire and really Anne is just one of the supporting cast, rather than the main focus. This is a story about Henry, for the most part. Anne is in there, obviously, but the story most Tudor fans will recognise has been turned inside out and it's like being on the inside looking out, rather than the outside looking in.

I liked that about this book. Henry Percy is usually mentioned briefly in most other stories about Anne. He was the young gentleman who fell in love with the young Miss Boleyn and I don't really know that much about him but I felt I got to know him so much better, thanks to this book.

It's got it's flaws and sometimes I got frustrated that it wasn't heading in the direction I wanted it to follow but overall it's a great story which is well told.

A great book for Tudor fans, History fans and romance fans. It's still a tragic tale but it's got a bit of everything in here.

Note: I received a free copy of this title from the publisher.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 October, 2013: Finished reading
  • 20 October, 2013: Reviewed