Exclusive interview with author Laura Andersen and a review of her second novel imagining a Boleyn King
By Gabrielle Pantera
Rating: Three Stars
“I’m constantly surprised at how long it can take to answer a seemingly simple question,” says The Boleyn Deceit author Laura Andersen. “For instance, how many living children did John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, have in the autumn of 1555? What were their names? And, how old were they? I spent two hours tracing genealogy records and tracking death dates, and noting that they had two living sons named Henry at the same time, for a handful of details that don’t materially affect the plot and take up no more than a paragraph.”
The Boleyn Deceit is the second book in an alternate history trilogy that began with a simple question. What if Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn had had a living son who grew up to become king? “The original idea was sparked in 2003, so clearly it’s been a long, winding journey of a story,” says Andersen
Elizabeth is the best character, although it’s the Boleyn King William’s story. Elizabeth’s struggle with wanting to protect her brother and political betrayal is more compelling than William’s plot to avoid an arranged marriage to a 10-year-old Catholic princess of France. With historical fantasy, the pleasure of the story is that changing just one thing in history can have far-reaching consequences. Making William, an imaginary character, the key player with a supporting cast of real historical figures, takes us beyond the point that many readers of historical novels can stay with the story. There’s just too much different from history. This book is better for readers who are more into fantasy.
Prince William is now king, but remains under the thumb of his former regent, his uncle George Boleyn. Uncle George continues meddling. With William are his sister Princess Elizabeth, William’s childhood friend Dominic, and Minuette, a ward of the crown. William’s fallen in love with Minuette, but she is secretly in love with Dominic. A prudent secret since King William has the notorious Tudor bad temper. Minuette is haunted by the death of Alyce de Clare, who died in the first book in the series.
“Like The Boleyn King, The Boleyn Deceit is set in a very real world with historical events that must be taken into account, but that real world has been subtly…sometimes more obviously…twisted by the birth of a son to Anne Boleyn,” says Andersen.
“The fun for me is in researching, say, the downfall of the Duke of Northumberland in real world history and using aspects of it in a new and unexpected way in my world. All the fun of research without quite all the obligations for accuracy.”
“Even more than viewing documents, I like viewing places,” says Andersen. “This summer I visited London for the third time and there was a particular pleasure in haunting the sites of my never-was historical world. I was particularly moved by the carvings in Beauchamp Tower at the Tower of London, done by prisoners including Robert Dudley and his father, the Duke of Northumberland. I had seen them before, but their meaning was new to me this time around.”
Anderson recently completed revisions on the third book in the trilogy, The Boleyn Reckoning. She’s started wrting the first book in a new trilogy for Ballantine. It’s set in the Elizabethan age with a Queen Elizabeth who has married and given birth to a daughter. “More alternate history,” says Anderson, “but with some familiar background from the Boleyn books.”
Andersen lives outside Boston. She was born in Oregon then adopted. The Boleyn Deceit is dedicated to her birth mother, whom Anderson met in 2002.
The Boleyn Deceit: A Novel Paperback By Laura Andersen. Paperback: 416 pages, Publisher: Ballantine Books (November 5, 2013) Language: English, ISBN-13: 978-0345534118 $9.00 also available as an ebook.
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