Suzannah DunnRecensioni

From my bookshelves. This edition is a "Not for resale" that looks like it was a freebie with a copy of Red magazine. I (attempted to) read this slim novel immediately after The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. The former is twice the size of the latter, and whilst The Constant Princess is focussed on Catherine of Aragon, this book tells of Anne Boleyn.
Anne Boleyn

Whilst in The Constant Princess, the first affair acknowledged by Catherine of Aragon is Anne Boleyn (thus setting up the rest of the Tudor series) The Queen of Subtleties presents that Catherine knew of previous affairs and attended the baptism of the illegitimate Fitz, even if she never formally acknowledged him.

The book starts the day before Anne's execution and she's looking back on where it all started, as a letter and a warning to her daughter Elizabeth. As with other fiction books about Anne Boleyn, she is betrayed as scheming, manipulative, but ultimately rather naive and deluded.

Henry didnt divorce Catherine because of me. For me, yes; in the end, yes. But not because of me.

It is interspersed with the narrative Lucy Cornwallis, the King's confectioner, whose narration covers 1535 - 1536.

The following from an article in The Scotsman about this book makes both Lucy - as the maker - and Anne as the received, both Queen of Subtleties

Subtleties are, or rather were, intricate sugar sculptures and statues created as beautiful centrepieces for Medieval feasts - the beginnings of modern-day sugar craft, although this was rather more like sugar art. The exquisite adornments are thought to have been created in the early 15th century with subtleties appearing at the coronation feast of eight-year-old Henry VI in 1429.

I have to admit this was a DNF. I got about 50% through (bearing in mind this was a very short book) before the anachronistic language was simply too much. Anne called her parents "mum" and "dad". When angry she said words like "fuck" and "christ". I know this is classed as a "reimaging" but Dunn and her publishers would do well to look at books like Longbourn by Jo Baker (loved the story AND how it was told) or Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James (not so sure about the story, but liked how it was told). In other words - you shouldn't sacrifice the way the book is written in order to get attention....I do wonder whether the book or the deal with Red's publishers came first, and am I being snobbish about Red's circulation?

Interesting look at the life and opinion of Catherine Parr's historical best friend in the last year or so of Catherine's life. The author made it extremely clear that she invented subplots.

Really liked that in the end it does remain ambiguous as to what exactly happened with Thomas Seymour and with Elizabeth.

Another Tudor set novel for me here. I really enjoyed it and have read the authors other Tudor set novels, all of which were good reads.

La bella, ambiciosa y testaruda Ana Bolena conmocionó a la sociedad inglesa de su tiempo, pero tras provocar el divorcio de Enrique VIII se gana muchos enemigos y fuerzas poderosas se confabularán para hacerle pagar un alto precio. Mientras tanto, en las cocinas de palacio, Lucy Cornwallis, pastelera del rey, se entrega a sus quehaceres. Ella sola, entre doscientos hombres, convierte el azúcar en fantásticas figuras para las celebraciones reales y sortea las complicaciones de la vida cortesana. Pero también Lucy y su confidente, el músico Mark Smeaton, se verán atrapados en el torbellino que amenaza a la nueva reina y que podría acabar con todos sus sueños...

I picked this up in the local thrift store, and it will be heading back there just as quickly as it came home. After my seemingly bad run of luck with books recently, I was hoping that an historical piece of fiction might help break the dam; it was not going to happen with this book and, to be honest I didn’t finish it either.

I had many issues with the book as far as I read. The character of Anne Boleyn was rather insulting when compared to what is known of her from historical documents. In this interpretation of her character she is portrayed as being the innocent pawn of her Families’ ambitions to rise higher within the Tudor Court, rather than the driven and confident woman that readers are used to. As one of the narrators of the book, the language she uses is far too modern for the time period in which it is set, and this was the reason for my not finishing the book. The language used by both Anne and the other narrator was extremely distracting and, I can’t help but feel the Author wrote this book in this manner to make her work more accessible to the modern reader.

I wish I could say something good about the contents of this book, but the only saving grace about it for me was the cover image, which I kept returning to look at time and again and this was the reason for my 1 thumb review. I will not be reading anything else by this Author, and find it a hard book to recommend to anyone who enjoys a good historical novel.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/02/13/review-the-queen-of-subtleties-a-novel-of-...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I have read a lot of books by Suzannah Dunn in the past as I do enjoy historical fiction especially the Tudor period. I loved The May Bride but the rest of them have been hit or miss.

This story follows Alys Twist, a laundress in the household of Queen Mary 1st. She is then sent as a spy in the household of the princess Elizabeth. That basically is it.

For me the plot was slow and nothing much does happen. I did think how can a laundress become a spy when all of her time is taken up in the laundry. I also felt the story was fleshed out with lots of descriptions of clothing and cleaning.

This book was too dull for me and half way through I decided to not read anymore. Very disappointed.

Interesting concept with a different view of the Tudor royal household.

It wasn't quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it and that's what matters to me. The story of life in London was interesting, especially from a Spaniards perspective. Seeing the transformation of devotion to doubt in the character's internal analysis of their relationships was intriguing...and realistic. Absence does not always make the heart grow fonder!

The life of Anne Boleyn as told as writings to her daughter Elizabeth intertwined with the views of a confectioner for the king.

I enjoyed this book very much and finished it in 24 hours! Was very easy reading. I did read many of the reviews prior to purchasing the book and people seem to forget that it is historical fiction. If you want to have accuracy then read non-fiction! I do agree, however, that the title throws you off to lead you to believe that it is about Katherine Parr when the story truly centers around Catherine Brandon as she narrates the entire story. No, I don't believe this happened (will leave it blank to avoid spoilers) but it is intriguing none-the-less and that's all I want out of a book - to enjoy the story and feel like I am there witnessing it all and that's what was accomplished. I don't mind that the author used modern English vs. Tudor English - although I truly doubt that people called Edward Seymour Eddie and think perhaps that went a bit too far. Would recommend the book.

Starting out slowly, this is the story of Anne Boleyn, writing to her daughter Elizabeth and telling her life before her execution. Parallel to it is the story of the king's confectioner who is friends with one of the men accused of having committed adultery with Anne. Somewhat slow going, the story was still interesting, esp because I learned about confection making...

Excellent, not what I thought but quite good.
Queen 'Bloody' Mary appears in the book several times, but is not the narrator. The narrator is a Spanish (of Jewish decent) sundial builder who is brought to England with Mary's new Spanish consort and his court. The palace is full and Rafael is placed with a private English family for the duration of his stay.
Rafael is an excellent narrator of this story as he likes and approves of Queen Mary, but is very familiar with Spanish Inquisition and watches in horror as innocents are murdered and burned in the name of faith.

Orphan Alys has managed to survive against the odds. She works as a launderess and has secured a position in the household of the new Queen. Mary Tudor in 37 and has waited to claim the throne for many years, now she has done so and is also about to get married to a Spanish prince. This is causing some upset among the people of England and there are plots to dethrone Mary centred around her half-sister Elizabeth. Alys is pressured into becoming a spy in Elizabeth's household.
This is an interesting take on Tudor history and from the viewpoint of a quite humble servant which is to its benefit. I found the 'lesbian' love affair unconvincing and didn't really see what plot there was. However as a view of Tudor England from a lowly perspective it was interesting

I picked this up in the local thrift store, and it will be heading back there just as quickly as it came home. After my seemingly bad run of luck with books recently, I was hoping that an historical piece of fiction might help break the dam; it was not going to happen with this book and, to be honest I didn’t finish it either.

I had many issues with the book as far as I read. The character of Anne Boleyn was rather insulting when compared to what is known of her from historical documents. In this interpretation of her character she is portrayed as being the innocent pawn of her Families’ ambitions to rise higher within the Tudor Court, rather than the driven and confident woman that readers are used to. As one of the narrators of the book, the language she uses is far too modern for the time period in which it is set, and this was the reason for my not finishing the book. The language used by both Anne and the other narrator was extremely distracting and, I can’t help but feel the Author wrote this book in this manner to make her work more accessible to the modern reader.

I wish I could say something good about the contents of this book, but the only saving grace about it for me was the cover image, which I kept returning to look at time and again and this was the reason for my 1 thumb review. I will not be reading anything else by this Author, and find it a hard book to recommend to anyone who enjoys a good historical novel.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/02/13/review-the-queen-of-subtleties-a-novel-of-...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I have always wondered about the title of this book as I have never considered anything about Anne Boleyn to be "subtle". I found this book interesting. I have read some of the reviews and many of them seem to unhappy about the author's writing style. Yes, she did use modern language-foul and otherwise-but for me, it didn't detract from the essential story. I found Anne Boleyn's narration to be pretty believable. I can just imagine her impatience and frustration! Lucy was a bit out there for me, but interesting. It's a unique book about a dramatic and sad era.

royal reads. a strange story

I read this with interest most of the way through, and enjoyed the stories about the occupations of gentlewoman who had servants for the most onerous work, but still working hard on brewing medicine, sewing, and preparations for the various festivals celebrated throughout the year. It does a wonderful job with characterizations; John and Margery Seymour had quite a few children, and Dunn gives them all a few minutes on the stage. I thought this should have been a little shorter, particularly as it focuses more and more on Katharine's moods while her husband Edward was at war. I thought it was generally well-written, but the more I think about it, the less I think of it. I try to keep in mind that this is told from Jane's point of view, and therefore may have things which may not be objectively true, but may seem true from her point of view. Toward the end it simplifies history a bit for effect, but perhaps Jane didn't want to think about the things, including the hazards of marrying a man whose treatment of his first two wives stunned Europe. At the end, even many of those who disliked Anne thought she was being railroaded, what with Henry spending so much time with Mistress Seymour. Hence the famous, if possibly apocryphal statement of Christina, Duchess of Milan, that she would be happy to marry Henry if only she had two necks. Perhaps Jane comforted herself that being from a large family, she was sure to produce a healthy boy.

The book begins with Jane waiting to hear the cannon shot that will mark Anne Boleyn's execution, and reflecting back to the entry of Katharine Falliol into the Seymours' lives and the subsequent tragedy, the bulk of the book. Jane is then sent to court to serve as an attendant to Katharine of Aragon, who is fighting Henry VIII's attempt to annul their marriage. Jane returns home after Queen Katharine's household is broken up. Henry VIII, now married to Anne Boleyn, visits Wolf Hall (or Wulfhall) and is attracted to Jane. Dunn leaps from that meeting to Jane's waiting for the cannon firing that will announce Anne's death, skipping over the part when Henry brings Jane to court as one of Anne's attendants, with his typical tactlessness or cruelty. If Anne's marriage to Henry, and Katharine's to Edward Seymour, were short, as Jane reflects, hers was even shorter, but since she died giving birth to the long-awaited son, she was honored above all his other wives with a queen's funeral and a burial next to him. Jane Seymour and Katharine Parr were the only two of Henry's wives that he didn't discard, although he threatened them both, but Katharine outlived him. Incidentally, the two would become sisters-in-law after Jane's and Henry's deaths when Katharine hastily married Jane's brother Thomas, another brief marriage.

Dunn also credits Jane with reconciling Henry to his daughter Mary, which she certainly wanted to do, but leaves out the critical submission to Henry that Mary signed (while secretly issuing a protest), in which she acknowledged that her parents' marriage was invalid and Henry was the head of the English church. Certainly Jane's goodwill must have been a welcome balm to Mary after all her sufferings; between that and her submission, she returned to court and her treatment by her father improved, but Henry would still make Mary's life so difficult that she would refer to herself as “the unhappiest lady in Christendom.”

In the end, Dunn posits that Jane's understanding of the shame of men who make mistakes about women is what draws Henry VIII to her, and makes her queen of England. Well, that and the fact that Anne suffered the miscarriage of a male fetus the next January. I suspect that if Anne had delivered a healthy son in 1536, Mistress Jane would have been on her way back to Wolf Hall. And who does Jane regard as having shamed himself by making a mistake over a woman? Henry and Anne, obviously, he would later refer to her as his Great Folly. What about the men in her family, though? It might be necessary to ask if she is referring to feeling shame over bad conduct, or being shamed in front of other people, whether one is guilty or not, or both.

Here begins a spoiler, if you aren't already familiar with the story. Reading the notes, given after the novel, is a good reminder of how skimpy the historical evidence often is. Dunn tells us that while the idea that young John was not Edward Seymour's son, although he was the son of a male Seymour, and that Katharine was repudiated and sent to a nunnery would tie all the available facts together, it is not directly stated in any records. In the next century, someone would annotate a book of the peerage with a note claiming that Katharine had an affair with her father-in-law, John Seymour.

One does have to wonder why it took Edward so long to decide that Katharine had had an affair; the scenario in this book is a one-night stand with his hostile, jealous brother Thomas. He is supposed to have become fatally suspicious because he found poems that his father wrote to Katharine, at her request. But if John Seymour was innocent, what would these poems have said – not every poem is about love? "I'm glad my son married a lovely, charming woman, and we so enjoy having her in the family," would seem innocuous, particularly with Thomas around as another suspect. Dunn never discusses John or Margery Seymour's reactions to these false, within this story, accusations; they just disappear. Did they, like Katharine, decide to protect Thomas?

If Edward is one of the men who has made a mistake over a woman, is that by marrying Katharine or repudiating her? In that time, Edward would have been considered to have been shamed by being cuckolded, and considered partially responsible for his inability to control his wife; her adultery was regarded as an affront to the community, not just her husband. Repudiating an unfaithful wife who might still be carrying on her affair with a relative probably wouldn't have been considered shameful, although it, of course, would have been embarrassing to have the sordid story publicly known. If he later realized that he had falsely accused his father, that would have shamed him, but there is no indication of that. Is Jane thinking of Thomas Seymour, who cuckolded his brother, although he probably enjoyed doing so? Would Thomas have felt shame for not speaking up and letting his innocent father take the blame, or for participating in Katharine's downfall?

Dunn ends with Jane reflecting that she will now have the power to seek out Katharine, if she decides to do so. She might have had to seek out a grave. Divorce did not necessarily permit remarriage, which may be one of the reasons Henry favored annulments and executions. Wikipedia notes that Edward married Anne Stanhope the year before this, which likely indicates that Katharine died before that, and Jane would have known, of course. I don't mean to be too picky here -- we don't actually know that Katharine died, so if Dunn wants to end her story another way, that reveals Jane's confidence in her new found power, it's fine with me.½

More like a 2.5 bcs it feels like too much context is left out in favor of imagined domestic, romantic, and sexual detail that feels like soap opera filler. If there was ever a cast of real world characters who don't need that touch up to create a sense of dramatic arc or intrigue to support a page turning work of historic fiction this might be them ?

As a historical novel, this book failed in my opinion. As a novel, if I forgot that it was supposed to be about people that actually existed, it was pretty good.

The story of Lady Jane Grey, Queen for 9 days, is well-known. In this fictionalised account of her final months Dunn has as her narrator Elizabeth Tilney, lady-in-waiting/companion to Jane. Tilney is a real character, she accompanied Jane to the scaffold, but Dunn models her character and uses her to explore the politics of Jane's execution as well as create a story for Tilney that explores the life of a Tudor woman.

Unfortunately this book is neither a fictionalised account of Jane Grey nor a successful story about a tudor woman - the two get tangled together. Leanna de Lisle biography of Jane and her sisters ('The sisters who would be queen') is a great biography. Whilst perfectly pleasant I didn't really bond with this book as much as I would have liked.

It's no Wolf Hall, but was interesting to hear a bit more about this young, flighty queen and her disastrous short marriage to Henry VIII. As others have said the modern language makes it feel inauthentic, but does also make it very readable.

I know with this being fiction there were liberties taken on what actually happened. But I found the book very well written and easy to follow. It always intrigues me what happened that long ago and how people were treated. It's amazing that she was so young when she died and also how many wives the king had. It's also interesting that if he got bored with his wife he just had her killed. This is a fast read and very descriptive so you can really visualize the characters. I really enjoyed this book. I recommend it if you want to read something about the 1500s. It actually interested me so much I read further about Katherine Howard and the other people involved. It made me a little more interested in that part of history.

This book was okay but I've read much better ones about Mary Tudor. I found most of the characters insipid and uninspiring and I rarely felt any empathy with the main character, Rafael. Could have been so much better!

I liked how the story was told alternatively by Anne Boleyn and the royal confectioner, Lucy Cornwallis, but I found the use of modern language extreme irritating and felt it detracted from the whole story.

Poor Jane. She really got a bum rap. In The Lady of Misrule, Elizabeth Tilney gets a front-row seat to the insanity that is Jane’s post-reign imprisonment and gains insight into the reasons for that imprisonment. Then again, as Elizabeth and Jane face a longer imprisonment than they ever imagined, Elizabeth must confront the issues within her own life.

Tudor England politics are never an easy topic. Yet, Suzannah Dunn does a fabulous job explaining the politics behind the Mary and Jane battle and the stakes at hand for both. She details the forces behind Jane’s thrust to the throne and hints at the issues that Mary will continue to have during her own reign. In an era that requires multiple charts and graphs to map out the intricate relationships and branches of the royal tree, Dunn manages to make this brief portion of history understandable.

As this is a work of fiction, Dunn does play a little loose with historical details. However, what she fails to include or what she changes in no way changes that history or the story. She tends to omit tiny details that, while important, are not necessary to understanding Jane’s fate. I would rank her as a much better author than a certain other author with initials of PG who also loves to write about the Tudors.

If anything, after reading The Lady of Misrule, you will come away with a greater appreciation for the freedoms afforded to women in the twenty-first century. You will also celebrate the fact that our forefathers here in the United States had the insight and courage to throw off the monarchy. Who needs all that infighting and scheming? It certainly didn’t do Jane any good after all.