Alison Weir has written so many novels about the Tudors it’s surprising that she’s still able to find different angles and perspectives to write from. In The Boleyn Secret, she tells the story of Kate Carey, daughter of Anne Boleyn’s sister Mary and, some believe, Henry VIII himself. There have been other books about Kate, but I haven’t read any (apart from where she’s mentioned as a minor character), so reading a whole book from her point of view was something new for me.
Katherine Carey (referred to as Kate throughout the book, so I will do the same) was born in 1524 to Mary Boleyn and her husband, William Carey, However, as Mary was having an affair with Henry VIII around this time, many historians have suggested that he was the true father, although this has never been confirmed and Henry never acknowledged Kate as his daughter. For the purposes of this novel, Weir assumes that the rumours were true and that Kate was aware that Henry was her father. She uses this idea to explore how this knowledge may have impacted on Kate’s life, how she discovered it and whether she wanted it to be known.
The book begins with the twelve-year-old Kate witnessing the execution of her aunt, Anne Boleyn (another story that has never been confirmed). We are then taken through the whole of Kate’s life, encompassing her close relationship with her cousin and half-sister Elizabeth (the future queen), her marriage to Sir Francis Knollys, her view on key historical events such as Henry VIII’s next four marriages, the reigns of Edward VI and Queen Mary, religious change and turmoil, and finally the long reign of Queen Elizabeth and the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Having read all of Weir’s Six Tudor Queens series and several of her other Tudor novels, a lot of this felt repetitive as I was just seeing the same events from yet another perspective. However, there was still plenty of new material, mainly surrounding Kate’s family life with Francis and their sixteen (yes, sixteen!) children. Kate and Francis appear to have had a genuinely happy marriage, a nice change from all the unhappy marriages that often fill the pages of historical novels! I particularly enjoyed the part of the book where they, as Calvinists, go into exile in Europe during the reign of Mary I and her Protestant burnings. Weir admits in her author’s note, though, that this episode of their lives is poorly documented so she had to use her imagination here.
Elizabeth is a huge presence in Kate’s life; they are very close from childhood and Kate loves her as a sister, although she’s never quite sure whether Elizabeth knows the truth about their relationship and is afraid to bring the subject up herself. Elizabeth is presented as a complex person of many contradictions: she can be exceptionally generous and thoughtful, but also incredibly selfish; she often seems cold-hearted and appears to be jealous and resentful of Kate’s loving marriage to Francis, but she also has a vulnerable side and relies on Kate for friendship and support. It’s frustrating to see how Elizabeth repeatedly finds ways to keep Kate and Francis apart, purely because she doesn’t want to share Kate with anyone else; I don’t think I could have kept forgiving her the way Kate did – but of course, in the turbulent Tudor period it was important to stay on the right side of your king or queen!
Overall, I enjoyed this book but I thought it felt unnecessarily long, a common criticism I have of Alison Weir’s novels. I understand that she wants to include as much information as possible to give a full picture of the subject she’s writing about, but this is fiction, not non-fiction, and I’m sure there must have been things that could be left out or condensed to make the story more fun to read. Still, it was interesting to have the opportunity to learn more about Kate Carey and her family. Alison Weir’s next novel will be The Pretender’s Wife, about Lady Catherine Gordon and Perkin Warbeck, so that’s something to look forward to.
Thanks to Headline for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
Book 14/20 of 20 Books of Summer
She Reads Novels 
I agree with you her books are often longer than they need to be. Probably explains why I have a couple on my bookshelf still unread!
She never seems to want to leave any of her research out, which is fine in a non-fiction book but can become a bit tedious in a novel! I enjoyed this one overall, though.
I’m looking forward to The Pretender’s Wife. For some weird reason, my entire history A-level group was obsessed with Perkin Warbech!
Warbeck, even.
I suppose his story does capture the imagination!
I was listening to a podcast last week which included commentary on Henry and his many affairs. There apparently is next to no evidence that he did in fact have a fling with Mary Boleyn.
That’s interesting. According to Alison Weir, the evidence is that Henry applied for dispensation from the pope to marry Anne Boleyn due to already having a relationship ‘in the first degree’, which has been interpreted to mean either her mother or sister. It all seems quite vague, though.
Although I generally enjoy Weir’s nonfiction, I haven’t tried any of her fiction since the first book I read. Has she gotten any better at fiction writing? I thought her nonfiction was a lot better.
I think her more recent novels are definitely better than her earlier ones, but I sometimes find them slightly dry and she has a tendency to include too much information, which makes her books very long. I think her style is more appropriate for nonfiction.
That doesn’t surprise me from a biography writer.
I’ve not managed to get on with Alison Weir – maybe it is the length! I did try her Eleanor of Aquitaine nf, but ended up rewatching The Lion in Winter again instead! O’Toole and Hepburn are just so brilliant in it.
Her books are often unnecessarily long, so if you’re not really invested it would be a struggle to finish them. I love The Lion in Winter – I think I’m due a rewatch myself soon!
This sounds quite good, but I agree that her novels tend to be repetitive as she always takes you through the whole life of the main character and so always through the same events.
Yes, I don’t think we really needed to read about all of Henry VIII’s wives again, when they all have their own separate books anyway. There was a lot of new information about Kate and her family as well, though, so I still enjoyed this book.
Kate obviously turns up briefly in Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl which I devoured as a teenager so that intrigues me immediately – always like an outside take on Elizabeth, too.
It’s been so long since I read The Other Boleyn Girl I couldn’t remember whether Kate appeared much in it. Her relationship with Elizabeth in this book is really interesting as she’s one of the only family members Elizabeth really trusts – but only because Henry has never acknowledged her as his daughter so she’s not seen as a threat.
I don’t think she has much to do in TOBG, but maybe she’s in the sequel The Queen’s Fool more? Also ages since I read either one!
This sounds like a good one! Though I wish her books weren’t quite so long, too. ;D
I enjoyed it but felt like it took forever to read! She always tries to include every little thing that happened in the characters’ lives, which is just too much.
I dont know anything about the lead of this one so I think I’d find it fascinating. Although as I plan to pick up the other Tudor series by the author first I’ll probably also end up finding some bits of the story repetitive. It sounds really interesting overall though, especially the complicated bond between Kate and Elizabeth. I hope you love the authors next book.
I didn’t really know anything about Kate Carey either until I read this book. Her relationship with Elizabeth is fascinating. I hope you like Alison Weir’s other Tudor books whenever you get round to them.