[UUF]≫ PDF Free To Die For A Novel of Anne Boleyn Ladies in Waiting Sandra Byrd 9781439183113 Books

To Die For A Novel of Anne Boleyn Ladies in Waiting Sandra Byrd 9781439183113 Books

Download As PDF : To Die For A Novel of Anne Boleyn Ladies in Waiting Sandra Byrd 9781439183113 Books

To Die For A Novel of Anne Boleyn Ladies in Waiting Sandra Byrd 9781439183113 Books

To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Sandra Byrd
Source: Purchase
Stars: 4/5

I don't think I am ever going to get tired of reading Anne Boleyn's story. I know her story, beginning, middle, and end, and yet I still keep picking up novels related to her life. Not unexpectedly then did Sandra Byrd's To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn catch my attention. I set upon this historical fiction read expecting what I have read in many other accounts of Anne Boleyn's life; what I found was something wholly different and exciting.

To Die For opens in 1518, with Anne Boleyn still a maiden living in her father's home. She is but a child and often found dallying with her best and most loyal friend, Meg Wyatt. The two girls are young, naïve, and living only for the moment when their respective father's will make them a marriage match both agreeable and beneficial. For Anne, there is little concern this will happen as she is smart, beautiful, and from a respected and wealthy family bordering on noble. Meg Wyatt on the other hand is also intelligent and quite lovely but her family is neither as wealthy nor noble as Anne's. Neither girl can imagine the journey they are to embark on in the ensuing years.

Byrd recounts what is historically known about Anne Boleyn's life but is one of the very few authors who does not make Anne out to be a conniving, scheming, and heartless bitch bent only on achieving her own goals and desires. Instead, as Byrd traces the events of Anne's life she takes care to present her as an intelligent girl who unfortunately falls prey to the desires of a man significantly more powerful and persuasive than herself. Anne is presented as a girl who well and truly loved Henry Tudor and wished nothing more than to be by his side and please him with the birth of a male heir. Furthermore, Byrd goes even further and presents Henry (as I have always imagined he was) as a grown and selfish child who repeatedly set aside or killed those he thought could no longer further his plans or fulfill his desires. As we well know, Anne was one of those who fell from Henry's favor.

As Anne's story progresses, she is attended almost constantly by her long-time friend Meg Wyatt. In her own way, Meg is just as tragic as Anne and is often subject to the whims of the men in her life - if she is parted from Anne, it is due to one of those whims. Meg feels called to be by Anne's side and truly believes it is her duty to advise and guide Anne as well as to protect her at every turn. In many ways, Meg is far, far more intelligent and insightful than Anne and warns her friend of the trouble she will face at Henry's side. Unfortunately, even Meg's guidance will not be enough to save Anne from her fate.

The Bottom Line: I enjoyed this reading and accounting of Anne Boleyn's life and very much appreciate that Byrd took care to present Anne as something more than she is often presented in historical fiction. I also appreciate that Byrd does not expound on every moment of lust and sex between Henry and Anne but focuses more on the issue at hand, the conversion of England from Catholicism to the Protestant faith which made Anne's marriage to Henry possible. Bound in all of this is Meg Wyatt, a character who, to the very end remained loyal to her friend. Byrd has made sure to entwine Meg's story with Anne's thus creating a far more interesting account of these events. For those who are as fascinated by Anne Boleyn as I am, I heartily recommend this read as it is a refreshingly new view of an old story.


Tags : To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn (Ladies in Waiting) [Sandra Byrd] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Sandra Byrd takes readers back to the court of Henry the Eighth in a novel that imagines the life of Anne Boleyn’s best friend,Sandra Byrd,To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn (Ladies in Waiting),Howard Books,1439183112,9781439183113,Christian - General,Christian - Historical,Christian - Romance,Anne Boleyn - Friends and associates,Christian fiction,Christian fiction.,Great Britain - History - Henry VIII, 1509-1547,Historical fiction.,FICTION Christian General,FICTION Christian Historical,FICTION Christian Romance,FICTION General,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Romance General,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,FictionRomance - General,Historical - General,Historical fiction,Romance - General,Sandra Byrd; Tudors; Anne Boleyn; Henry VIII; Tudor court; Christian fiction; Christian novel; Christian book; Christian stores; Library Journal; historical fiction; Historical Novel Society; To Die For; Roses Have Thorns

To Die For A Novel of Anne Boleyn Ladies in Waiting Sandra Byrd 9781439183113 Books Reviews

Books about royalty are definitely not my normal reading fare, so I'm honestly not sure what made me want to read this one. I think it was, perhaps, the story being told from a friendship angle that hooked me. And Sandra Byrd has done an admirable job of telling Anne Boleyn's story from the viewpoint of her lifelong friend, Meg Wyatt.

To Die For is a well-written account of the rise, fall and death of Anne Boleyn. The characterizations and dialogue were well-done, having a realistic feel and never contrived. Some other reviewers have criticized the author's use of phrasing in her dialogue, but I found nothing to criticize. Dialogue that "feels" authentic to the time period while remaining easily readable for the modern reader is not easy, and Sandra Byrd achieved a nice balance in her book (the only criticism I have -- and this is minor, even petty perhaps -- is that the occasional use of "je ne sais quoi" should have been italicized, since it is not English). The story she created for Meg (she acknowledges in her notes at the back of the book that it was largely invented) was a nice counterpoint to Anne's story. Her depiction of Anne's death was graphic without being gruesome; I thought it was especially well-done. And for those who like their books free of sex and profanity this is sure to please, since there was nothing more than the faintest innuendos.

All that being said, this book is definitely Tudor-lite. It covers a lot of ground in only 330 pages, which means it largely skims the surface of Anne's story, hitting the main highlights without going into depth. Others like me who are not royalty-philes will probably be ok with that. But if you are a lover of all things Tudor, and have read much about them at all, then you may be bored with this.
I have read a million gazillion books on Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, and the rest of the court. It's always refreshing though, to hear their story told from a completely new voice. Meg Wyatt is not someone I've come across often in books about Anne, which is strange considering how close they were. Ms. Byrd has written an excellent, realistic, and meticulously researched story of Anne Boleyn as seen through the eyes of her dearest friend, Meg.

Anne and Meg grow up together on neighboring estates. Though Anne is sent to the French court with her sister for many years, the two remain close. When Anne joins the English court of Henry VIII and begins service to Katherine of Aragon, she has Meg join her to get her away from an abusive father and brother. As the years go by, we see Anne as Meg sees her. Not the scheming harlot that history likes to remember her as, but as a woman who truly loves a very powerful, very dangerous man. A woman who helped bring great reform to her country, and helped thousands of people read the word of God in their own language...something that was always forbidden under the rule of Rome. We see Henry slowly, then rapidly turn from the Golden Prince he was in his youth, to the paranoid tyrant he becomes in his later years.

Even though I always know how the story ends, it was almost like I was reading it for the first time. I wanted so much for Henry to show Anne the enduring love he once had for her. I desperately hoped that she would carry out her third pregnancy to term, but of course, she miscarried again. And I prayed that the council would find her not guilty of the ridiculous charges that were brought against her, but alas...

Weaved throughout Anne's story is Meg's own. Loving a man that she cannot have. Dodging blows from her abusive father, followed by her abusive brother. Watching another brother, Thomas Wyatt, get sent to the tower for supposedly having an affair with the Queen. Coping with the lose of her beloved friend, and worrying what will become of her now that Anne is gone. And then finally finding some happiness for herself.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book, and HIGHLY recommend it if you're interested in reading it. This was my first book by Ms. Byrd, but definitely not my last!
To Die For A Novel of Anne Boleyn by Sandra Byrd
Source Purchase
Stars 4/5

I don't think I am ever going to get tired of reading Anne Boleyn's story. I know her story, beginning, middle, and end, and yet I still keep picking up novels related to her life. Not unexpectedly then did Sandra Byrd's To Die For A Novel of Anne Boleyn catch my attention. I set upon this historical fiction read expecting what I have read in many other accounts of Anne Boleyn's life; what I found was something wholly different and exciting.

To Die For opens in 1518, with Anne Boleyn still a maiden living in her father's home. She is but a child and often found dallying with her best and most loyal friend, Meg Wyatt. The two girls are young, naïve, and living only for the moment when their respective father's will make them a marriage match both agreeable and beneficial. For Anne, there is little concern this will happen as she is smart, beautiful, and from a respected and wealthy family bordering on noble. Meg Wyatt on the other hand is also intelligent and quite lovely but her family is neither as wealthy nor noble as Anne's. Neither girl can imagine the journey they are to embark on in the ensuing years.

Byrd recounts what is historically known about Anne Boleyn's life but is one of the very few authors who does not make Anne out to be a conniving, scheming, and heartless bitch bent only on achieving her own goals and desires. Instead, as Byrd traces the events of Anne's life she takes care to present her as an intelligent girl who unfortunately falls prey to the desires of a man significantly more powerful and persuasive than herself. Anne is presented as a girl who well and truly loved Henry Tudor and wished nothing more than to be by his side and please him with the birth of a male heir. Furthermore, Byrd goes even further and presents Henry (as I have always imagined he was) as a grown and selfish child who repeatedly set aside or killed those he thought could no longer further his plans or fulfill his desires. As we well know, Anne was one of those who fell from Henry's favor.

As Anne's story progresses, she is attended almost constantly by her long-time friend Meg Wyatt. In her own way, Meg is just as tragic as Anne and is often subject to the whims of the men in her life - if she is parted from Anne, it is due to one of those whims. Meg feels called to be by Anne's side and truly believes it is her duty to advise and guide Anne as well as to protect her at every turn. In many ways, Meg is far, far more intelligent and insightful than Anne and warns her friend of the trouble she will face at Henry's side. Unfortunately, even Meg's guidance will not be enough to save Anne from her fate.

The Bottom Line I enjoyed this reading and accounting of Anne Boleyn's life and very much appreciate that Byrd took care to present Anne as something more than she is often presented in historical fiction. I also appreciate that Byrd does not expound on every moment of lust and sex between Henry and Anne but focuses more on the issue at hand, the conversion of England from Catholicism to the Protestant faith which made Anne's marriage to Henry possible. Bound in all of this is Meg Wyatt, a character who, to the very end remained loyal to her friend. Byrd has made sure to entwine Meg's story with Anne's thus creating a far more interesting account of these events. For those who are as fascinated by Anne Boleyn as I am, I heartily recommend this read as it is a refreshingly new view of an old story.