The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen

the boleyn kingNarrated by Simon Vance

The Boleyn King is the first book in a trilogy set in an “alternative” Tudor time-line, and having thoroughly enjoyed the books in print, I was really pleased to see that they’ve been made into audiobooks with the extremely talented Simon Vance on board as narrator.

The trilogy is founded upon an intriguing premise – what if Anne Boleyn had given Henry VIII a son who had lived to succeed his father?

In The Boleyn King, William Tudor (who will be crowned as Henry IX) is in the final year of his minority. Since the death of his father, Henry VIII, England has been governed by a protectorate under the control of the clever, powerful and wily George Boleyn (brother of Anne), the Duke of Rochford. Being the first book in a trilogy, it takes time in setting up the relationships that are central to all three books – namely those between the characters of William, his sister Elizabeth, William’s closest friend, Dominic Courtenay and Elizabeth’s attendant, Genevieve Wyatt (known as “Minuette”). The friendship dynamic between these four is crucial to the story as it develops – Will, the young king-in-waiting is clever, but impulsive; Dominic, five years older and a soldier of renown, is the restraining hand, the one man Will knows will always tell him the truth, no matter how unpalatable. Elizabeth is highly intelligent, more considered than William and loves her brother dearly, and Minuette is the life-and-soul, a vivacious and generous spirit who is ever the peacemaker – with a backbone as steely as the most practiced courtier.

It’s difficult to say much about the plot without giving too much away. Anyone familiar with historical fiction set in this period will have a good idea of what to expect – plenty of court intrigue and political manoeuvring, with lives often lived on the knife-edge of royal approval. The story is certainly full of all those ingredients, right from the start when Minuette and Dominic discover the body of a young woman – also one of Elizabeth’s attendants – lying at the bottom of a staircase. Did she fall, or was she pushed? The plot thickens the following morning when Minuette receives a letter from the dead woman containing a seemingly meaningless message, which, once Dom has decoded it, seems to point to the fact that the woman had been involved in a potentially treasonous plot to question William’s parentage and thus, his right to the throne.

In addition to this, there is the ever-present threat to the throne embodied by William’s half-sister Mary who, although living quietly away from court, is nonetheless the focus for the nation’s disgruntled Catholics. The treaty with France that Rochford is attempting to negotiate is foundering, meaning England is faced with the prospect of war with France once again, and at home, Minuette and Elizabeth become embroiled in the search for a document which purports to prove William’s illegitimacy and which, if it falls into the wrong hands, could incite civil war.

The story is well-paced and quite complex, so this isn’t the sort of audiobook that’s easy to keep up with without giving it one’s full attention – although fortunately, it’s so interesting that’s not difficult to do.

And amid all the scheming and plotting, Ms Andersen also finds time to allow romance to blossom, as Elizabeth becomes rather more than smitten with Robert Dudley, and Dominic comes to the realisation that his feelings for Minuette are not at all platonic. While the romance is low-key in this book, there’s a nice dash of romantic tension between Dominic and Minuette as the two become gradually aware of their true feelings. But before Dom can formally ask for Minuette’s hand, it seems that Will’s feelings towards her have also started to take a more romantic turn, a situation which, in future books, will come to have serious ramifications.

I seem to remember reading or hearing somewhere that Simon Vance has more audiobooks to his credit than any other narrator –and it’s easy to hear why. His voice is very pleasant and easy to listen to, his diction is perfect and the narrative is well-nuanced and expressive. This story features a large number of dramatis personae, so it must have been quite a challenge to find voices for all of them, but Mr Vance rises to it effortlessly and brings everyone expertly to life, from young women to old men, and from princes to servants. I was eager to hear how he would distinguish Will from Dominic – they are of an age (17/18 and 23 I believe), so too much distinction by means of pitch, for example, might not have worked very well. Mr Vance uses more or less his own speaking voice for Dominic, and adopts a slightly higher pitch and harsher tone for Will, which works especially well when he’s being stubborn and digging his heels in over something! In a book with two principal male characters, there also needs to be something in the performance which tells us something about who they are – who’s the funny one, or the serious one, or whatever – and the moment I heard Dominic speak, I could immediately tell that he’s the “romantic” hero of the book. Will may be the titular hero – he IS the Boleyn King, after all – but it’s Dominic we see falling in love during the course of the story, and he’s definitely the one imbued with the characteristics one would expect to find in a romantic hero.

I also particularly enjoyed Mr Vance’s interpretation of Rochford; he brings a real sense of gravitas to this complex and clever man who has been king in all but name for the past eight years. He speaks gruffly and quite slowly, which serves to show just how careful and considered a character he is.

The female characters are also very well represented, although I have a minor grumble about the very slight accent used for Minuette. She is half-French, and I believe the fact she has a bit of an accent is mentioned, but it didn’t sound especially French to me. And given the excellent French-accented-English Mr Vance uses for other characters such as Dom’s friend Renaud leClerc, I found it rather odd. I did get used to it as the story progressed, but I’m still not wild about it.

The Boleyn King is well written and very well-researched; and although the publishers insist on trumpeting its appeal to fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir – please don’t let that put you off, because it’s MUCH better! I’d classify the book as Historical Fiction with strong romantic elements (that develop throughout the series), so if you’re looking for something that ends with an HEA, then you won’t find it here. But if you’re in the mood for something a little different that allows you to soak up a terrific performance by one of the best narrators around, then this is definitely an audiobook you should consider adding to your Wish List.

Caz


Narration: B+

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in, but for the sexual references rather than on-screen sex

Violence: Attempted rape (not graphic), Fighting

Genre: Historical Fiction with romantic elements

Publisher: Audible Studios

 

The Boleyn King was provided to AudioGals by the author for review.

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