THE CONCUBINE

by Norah Lofts ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 1963

This is the tragic tale of Anne Boleyn by the exceedingly reliable Norah Lofts who dashes off her yarns with nary a misplaced subject or garbled motive. Beginning with a half-formulated vow of revenge from a shivering, exiled Anne as she onfides in her servant Emma in a deserted, draughty house, and ending with Emma's rieving search for a decent burial place for her mistress, this is enthralling ficionalized biography. Motives are simplified and made crystal clear to prod the incredible story: Anne, thwarted in her love for Harry Percy of Northumberland fashions her response to the courtship of the King with Wolsey's dethronement in view; Henry, sent on having an heir, falls in and out of love with this lure; Wolsey, attempting to lease the King, is a sane and sensible interpreter of the thinking of the Pope; Catherine is a much wronged lady conveniently dying of grief; and Lollards are distinctly in the wind, fanning religious conflicts...- There is little attempt to reproduce udor speech, yet each passage of dialogue is packed with a furious intent. This is o novel for collectors of scholarly minutiae, but a stirring tale of human passions violent times. There is the Lofts market- to be supplemented by those with a taste for good biography.

Pub Date: July 12, 1963

ISBN: 0753183315

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1963

Categories: FICTION