The Final Year of Anne Boleyn by Natalie Grueninger is a worthy addition to the vast number of books already written about Anne Boleyn. Over the course of 21 chapters, Grueninger presents an almost moment by moment biography of the last 4 seasons, if you will, of Anne's life.

My thoughts:
1. While Grueninger makes clear in the book's introduction that her goal is to present an objective, nuanced portrait of Anne's last year, I don't feel that was truly accomplished. I learned during my years in college as a history major that a set of events can be presented and interpreted in a myriad number of ways. That is because every writer of history delivers events via their own viewpoint. Remaining objective and impartial would be accomplished only if one was listing a straightforward timeline of dates, names, times and locations.
2. Having to read full letters, written as is (meaning in Tudor-style English) is a bit annoying. While they can provide some pertinent insight, for me, they trigger my inner proofreader. I find myself correcting punctuation and spelling when I read them.
3. I found a good chunk of the information included in the book to be unnecessary. It didn't seem to have any true relevance to Anne herself, or even some of the people in her immediate circle.
4. Grueninger makes an observation I found to be quite ironic. Upon the death of Katherine of Aragon, Anne was initially euphoric because she was now the only queen. But then she realizes, as Grueninger points out, that now there was nothing to prevent Henry VIII from chucking her aside for another wife the way he did to Katherine for her. In a weird way, Katherine's death is really what sealed Anne's fate.

As stated, this book is a worthy addition to the vast library of Anne Boleyn books. It's also perfect for die-hard Tudor history buffs. One just has to have patience to slog through the dry bits.

I have read so many books relating to Anne Boleyn over the years. So what I look for now in a book is does it tell me anything that I didn’t know before. The answer to this is yes I feel that I know Anne Boleyn that little bit better having read this book by Natalie Grueninger. The amount of research that the author has done is obvious, you only need to look at the appendix and see the amount of publications that she has read to compile this book

I always saw Anne Boleyn as the Queen that caught the Kings eye.I. A woman Who was not bothered about others. She may have believed at times that whilst Queen Katharine and Princess Mary were alive she wouldn’t conceive.

Anne was a woman interested in scholarly learning. She sent money to Oxford and Cambridge university’s. She sewed clothes for the poor. She gave out money to causes close to her.. She was a women who I believe did love the king but was unable to give him the long for heir he so desired over everything..

There was so much information in this book I found it best reading some each day. My congratulations to the author on a well written book she can be proud of.

A fascinating look into Anne Boleyn's final moments. Her last year was so chaotic that this in-depth looking really brought forth everything that she went through in her last year.

As its title suggests, Natalie Grueninger's The Final Year of Anne Boleyn is a study of the final twelve months of Henry VIII's ill-fated second queen.

Another of Anne's other biographers noted that studies of such small time frames often mean more extended quotes and citations. Grueninger does include generous passages of sources, but this is not padding. Instead, she often uses these to address and correct previous assumptions. Most impressive is how Grueninger can use these to construct Anne's world, particularly Anne's final progress.

Grueninger argues her points well. I was not conceived by her cause of Anne's fall (I believe Prof G Walker was closest), but she convincingly demonstrates Henry was no idle bystander or duped by his minister. Anne's death was an act of cruel revenge.

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in early modern and Tudor history, and I am grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Anne Boleyn is a name surrounded by controversy and infamy and her story has been told via many mediums for generations. The Final Year of Anne Boleyn dares to go where others before have not, and is a poignant and emotional read that strips back the media inspired Boleyn and cuts down to the core. Natalie writes with such compassion, intellect and meticulous detail that it is clear to see her passion for the subject and the woman the world thinks they know. This is an incredibly compelling and thoughtful read that is an excellent and fresh view on Anne Boleyn and her final year of life that has been carefully crafted into a masterpiece. Bravo!

The Final Year of Anne Boleyn by Natalie Grueninger

There are few women in English history more famous or controversial than Queen Anne Boleyn. She was the second wife of Henry VIII, mother of Elizabeth I and the first English queen to be publicly executed.
I 'm obsessed by the History of Henry v111 and his wives and having this book giving a great insight to the final year of Anne Boleyns life was of great interest to me .
A complex woman largely controlled by the male members of her family , used and manipulated for their own gains.
I found it a fascinating read. The author would do well to research and write about all his other wives.