Horn Book

From her cell in the Tower of London, Anne Boleyn recounts what has led to her pending execution. At age six, she was sent to be trained at court in the Netherlands, a year later she is asked to join the court of the French queen--where she learns how to play the game of courtly love--and then perfects her game at Henry VIII's court. The first-person narration is engaging, though the believability of secondary characters is limited.

ALA Booklist

The latest volume in Meyer's Young Royals historical fiction series, which includes Mary, Bloody Mary (1999) and Beware, Princess Elizabeth (2001), tells the dramatic story of Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn. Written in the first person, the narrative begins when Anne is 13 and ends 16 years later, as she prepares for her execution. The story follows historical accounts fairly closely, which makes for good history but limits a fiction writer to some extent in terms of plot and even characterization. Yet, Boleyn's story has elements that a fiction writer might shrink from. As the jealous sister of Henry VIII's mistress, Anne sets her sights on the king's affections and, when she attracts his favor, uses her virginity as a shield. Playing the game of courtship skillfully, she gains not only his love but also marriage and a throne, only to fall from grace. An involving narrative that offers a believable portrait of a flawed, even unsympathetic, woman who played out her ambitions as best she could against a complex, precisely depicted, backdrop of political intrigue.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Carolyn Meyer's Young Royals series continues with Doomed Queen Anne, based on the tragic events of Anne Boleyn's life. Told in the first person, Meyer's novel sensitively portrays Boleyn's childhood (at 13, she declared she would one day be Queen of England) through to the moments before her infamous end: death by beheading. (Oct.)

Kirkus Reviews

Meyer, who has told the story of the Tudor women from the perspective of his daughters Mary, Bloody Mary (1999) and Beware Princess Elizabeth (2001), returns to take the side of Anne Boleyn, the pot-stirrer, as it were. Beginning on the eve of her beheading, it is Boleyn's voice that explains how it all came to pass. And what a voice it is: vain, cunning, and spiteful. She is jealous of her sister (who was King Henry VIII's mistress before her), hates Queen Catherine whom she hopes to replace, plays a dangerous game with Henry, not surrendering her virginity to him for years, waiting for him to be rid of Catherine and to marry her. There is much loving description of gowns and jewels, and some indication of the difference styles of lavishness in English and French court life. What is more interesting is the tangled web of court intrigue at work and how Anne's fate is finally determined. All the implicit melodrama of her life is given full play here, but it will take some work to get to it. As in Meyer's earlier accounts, the first chapters are difficult and ponderous, full of enough detail to warrant backing up and starting over several times. Fortunately, there is a chart of the family at the front—an essential element in keeping track of the connections. Eventually, though, the story begins to gain momentum, rewarding the steadfast reader with a different perspective on the perils of ambition. (historical note, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 12+)

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-A novel, told in first person, about the unfortunate Anne Boleyn. In this account of her short life, she seems to have had no other real interest outside of her burning ambition to marry the king. Anne comes across as self-centered, selfish, and sometimes shrill. Since she makes no attempt to hide her efforts to win Henry's affection, she makes many enemies in the royal court, not the least of whom is young Princess Mary. Her eventual imprisonment in the tower of London on false charges and her subsequent beheading are described in the final chapter and a brief epilogue. Given the brevity of Anne's life and its single-minded focus, Meyer does an acceptable job of telling her story and steering a discreet course through the ins and outs of Henry's many sexual relationships. However, the epilogue reads like an afterthought and gives little information about how much of the book is true and about the major characters in the aftermath of Anne's execution. Still, middle-school girls will enjoy this portrait of the doomed queen, and it offers yet another perspective on the intricate relationships among members of Henry's royal family, his followers, and his enemies.-Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.