The Queen of Subtleties

She was the dark-eyed commoner who captivated a king, causing a monumental upheaval in the land that would sever England from the rest of the Western world. Yet, after three short years of marriage, she would die by the headsman's sword, leaving behind a young daughter destined to rule as the greatest of all British monarchs. She was enchantress and martyr, manipulator and pawn, a complex, misunderstood melange of subtlety and fire. Her name was Anne Boleyn. Author Suzannah Dunn brings a tumultuous era to life, as she reimagines the rise and descent of a tragic, legendary queen, the second and perhaps most famous wife of King Henry VIII. It is a story of betrayal and love, of pomp and obsession, told in two unforgettable alternating voices : that of the doomed queen herself, relating the true and twisted circumstances of her triumphs, downfall, and impending death to the innocent child who will never truly know her mother...and that of a servant, Lucy Cornwallis, witness to great and terrible events from her place in the royal kitchens. These two women - both serving at the whim of a volatile monarch, both prisoners in a world of power and unspeakable cruelty - share nothing except an inside view of the intricate workings of a merciless court...and an ultimately devastating relationship with a handsome, young musician.