Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford
by: Julia Fox
Published by: Ballantine Books
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Reviewed by Claire Vath
She’s been reviled throughout history as the wife of George Boleyn, who was sentenced to death because of her testimony, and sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn, who met the same fate.
For the first time, Julia Fox takes an original in-depth look at Jane Boleyn, nee Parker in Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford.
In her early years, Jane’s parents sent her to the court of Queen Katherine of Aragorn. She grew up as a member of the court, alongside Mary Boleyn and eventually her sister, Anne, before marrying their brother George and becoming the Lady Rochford.
Julia Fox tries to recreate the time period in which Jane Boleyn lived. But the thoughts and emotions of Jane Boleyn are purely speculative—we just don’t know.
In the past, Boleyn was largely overlooked by history, leaving few records of her day-to-day activities as lady in waiting to several Tudor queens. Perhaps this is with good reason. After reading the book, Jane Boleyn is actually far less interesting than others involved in the Tudor court.
Still, Fox’s book is a way to redeem Jane. Fox supposes that rather than acting out of malice to condemn George for inappropriate behavior with his sister, Anne, that Jane cracked under pressure after intense interrogations.
Unfortunately, all of these are merely suppositions to events that happened in the 1500s.
After George’s death and the subsequent loss of land and wealth, Lady Rochford became an accomplice in the affair of Queen Catherine Howard and Thomas Culpepper, passing love notes back and forth. Her involvement in the affair cost her her life. Queen Catherine and Lady Jane were executed on the same day.
In this book, author Julia Fox has worked tirelessly to exonerate Jane Boleyn as a villain of history. However, her use of words like “may have been there” or “Jane may have felt” leaves the reader wanting more concreteness of fact.
While it’s an interesting idea, the book comes off as a noble, well-researched attempt to grasp straws.
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