Writing Lab: "Writing About Anne Boleyn", by @lissabryan ~ My Reading Lounge

2014-03-07

Writing Lab: "Writing About Anne Boleyn", by @lissabryan

2014-03-07 No comments

Lissa Bryan is the author of Under These Restless Skies. She's kindly accepted to share with us her experience about writing this historical novel.

Writing About Anne Boleyn, by Lissa Bryan

I’ve always been fascinated by the Tudor era, especially by Anne Boleyn. She’s a woman who – quite literally – changed the world. Without her, the English Reformation would not have happened as it did, and, of course, there would have been no Elizabeth to face down the Spanish Armada, and no Virgin Queen to christen the little colony of Virginia.

I’ve devoured countless books about Anne Boleyn and the Tudor era— I could never get enough. But I feel Anne Boleyn is sometimes unfairly depicted. Unfortunately, most of what we “know” about Anne Boleyn comes from the reports of her enemies. On top of that, writers have tended to view her through the lens of their own perception.

What I tried to do was go back to the scant records we have and try to strip away all those layers of “perception” that have been added over the years.

What we know for certain about Anne Boleyn is that she was intelligent and charming, and intensely religious. The latter tends to get lost when people are painting her as a creature of raw ambition.

I wanted to show a more human Anne Boleyn, not an icon. She was a woman who changed the world, but she was a woman, with the same fears, vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and flaws as every other human.

I hope I’ve done her justice. I’ve hoped I helped reveal what a remarkable person she was. I confess, I’ve wondered what she would think of it. l think she would laugh and tell me I don’t know the half of it, but I think she would also be touched that we’ve kept her memory alive down through the ages.