A warm Anne Boleyn Files welcome to author Caroline Willc*cks who is celebrating the recent release of her novel The Duty of Women by sharing a guest article with us.
Over to Caroline…
Anne Boleyn is undoubtedly the most reviled, the most revered and also the most adored of all English Queens consort. She is at once a romantic heroine, a reformer and a fiery opponent. And so, I looked forward to writing about her in the second of my Tudor Queens series. THE DUTY OF WOMEN was to be a record of the last four years of her life, as seen by my everywoman heroine, Kat Cooke.
Kat, like most of us, is entranced by Anne. As she is introduced in OF ARAGON (the first of the series), she is drawn in by Anne’s glamour, her intelligence and her openness to new ideas. But how did this woman from a middle-ranking aristocratic family become the anointed Queen of England, spouse of the magnificent Henry VIII?
I don’t believe that Anne started out with a plan to ensnare King Henry. Indeed, my reading of her is that she was appalled by her sister Mary’s treatment as Henry’s mistress, and was determined that she would remain chaste until she married. Mary had been in love with Henry, had possibly born him two children, and had in time been discarded. It was an item of faith with Anne that she would not share the same fate.
The key to Anne’s character is her determination. A lesser woman might have been tempted by Henry’s entreaties to become his mistress. But for Anne, that was wrong. And I believe that it was a matter of principle for her. She did not plot to become Queen, but she knew she would not become a mistress. Once Henry had promised to marry her, then her aims changed. It became possible to think of powerful positions for her family, a reformed church and, in time, a Boleyn descendant on the throne.
The beauty of writing historical fiction is that you have a skeleton of historical fact to start with. It is your job as a writer to put flesh on the bones and bring those dead people to life. With Anne, I didn’t deviate from the known facts of her life, but I did then build her up as a character. I want the reader to see her in their mind’s eye, to touch the velvet of her gowns, smell her perfume.
So, I knew that she was not conventionally beautiful. She had flashing dark eyes and dark hair. I imagined that she was the kind of woman who would look plain in portraits but entrancing when in conversation her glance could enslave you. I imagined her in contrast to her sister Mary. She would not drink wine at lunchtime. She would like gowns to be stylishly chic, rather than overloaded with gaudy ostentation. I invented her love of perfume made from violets. It seemed less obvious than the rose oil Katherine of Aragon used.
Of course, there are many facets to Anne’s character I did not have to invent. Her interest in reform in the church, her enjoyment of music and poetry, her love of France. When I wrote of Anne as a mother, I imagined her surprised at the strength of her feelings for her little daughter. But it is true that she was a devoted mother, as far as she could be.
As THE DUTY OF WOMEN opens, Anne is waiting anxiously for Henry’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon to come through. The tension is rising, as she starts to wonder if Henry will ever marry her. She is into her thirties, and she knows that this is a difficult age to start having babies. I imagine her as being subject to meltdowns, and my heroine Kat experiences one. Kat is temporarily shaken, but she understands what Anne is going through. I don’t think she was an easy person to work for, but she did inspire loyalty in those closest to her.
Kat watches as Anne at last becomes Queen. She sees the many sides of her mistress. Mother of Elizabeth, and stepmother of difficult teenager Mary. Passionate partner of the King. Her interest in reform, her wit and her kindness. The poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt features in my novel, and it is he who takes over the story of her last days. It has been rumoured that the two of them had an affair before the King took Anne for his own. I use that in my novel, although it is platonic.
Anne was a dazzling success. But In the end she fails in her prime duty – to provide a male heir. The title of the novel refers to this. The duty of women is to bear children, preferably males.
The book celebrates women and mothers. But readers are invited to share Kat’s disbelief at the treatment of Anne, simply because of her lack of a son. How can this brilliant woman suffer such a fate? But Anne, unlike Katherine of Aragon, has no powerful allies in Europe. So she is removed, subject to trumped up charges, and her place taken by Jane Seymour.
In my novel, Jane Seymour is an anxious woman dressed in the clothes of a dead Queen. She herself dies giving birth, leaving Kat without a job.
Kat’s own story runs through the novel, and excuse me if I don’t give too much of this away, as there are a few surprises. But as Kat says, the birthing chamber is women’s battlefield, where they risk their lives and health. But, women are the warriors of life, whereas men are the soldiers of death.
I read a lot before writing OF ARAGON and THE DUTY OF WOMEN. One good biography ANNE BOLEYN by Eric Ives, THE TUDORS IN LOVE by Sarah Gristwood, IN BED WITH THE TUDORS by Amy Licence and HENRY VIII AND THE MEN WHO MADE HIM by Tracey Borman. I also relied heavily on podcasts and websites like THE ANNE BOLEYN FILES. Messrs Google and Perplexity came in handy – I would often end up with stuff from the Historic Royal Palaces, or English Heritage. However, I apologise in advance for anything which is patently impossible or irritating to true historians. I would like to thank Claire Ridgway for her kind invitation to write a guest blog on my writing. I didn’t tell her this, but her podcast was one of the starting points on my Tudor journey, quite a few years ago. I have never regretted my glimpses of this fascinating age.
Book blurb
Feisty heroine Kat Cooke returns to the Tudor court, where danger lurks around every corner and even love is uncertain.
Now a musician for Anne Boleyn, Kat struggles to keep her marriage afloat as she balances her loyalties, risking her heart and her life. In The Duty of Women, Queen Anne champions new ideas and liberties, but the glamour and brilliance of Anne’s reign hide the tragedy of her fate. As a queen without a male heir, she is betrayed by powerful men, including those she loved.
In the second instalment of her Tudor Queens series, Caroline Willocks gives readers an inside view of the dangerous games Tudor women must play to defend their power, their passions, and their lives.
ASIN: B0DLXW6BL2
Publisher : Atmosphere Press (10 Dec. 2024)
Language : English
Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8891324725
About Caroline
Caroline Willc*cks has worked in the theatre, as a freelance journalist and in charities. She has written all her life, and finds history fiction is a wonderful way to portray the human emotions in extraordinary settings. She has one previously published novel, Of Aragon, and a podcast of her historical fiction, Tudor and Stuart Fairytales. She lives in rural Herefordshire with her husband, two cats and a dog.