Mary Boleyn

Very disappointing

Not keen on narration. Very monotone. Also too much of an echo throughout becomes quite distracting

Insight into one of history's supporting cast

What did you like most about Mary Boleyn?

It was really interesting to have the spotlight turned onto one of the supporting characters in the drama of Anne Boleyn, her sister Mary.
Mary was mistress to Henry long before he ever met Anne and was, apparently, held in some affection long after their affair was over. Sadly, there's not much evidence of what she was like as a person, but she comes out of this book as a far nicer character than her sister. Beside Mary, I also got to meet other members of the cast list whose names I had vaguely heard of but whose history is otherwise obscure (to me at least), such as Henry Fitzroy, Henry Carey and Catherine Carey, all of whom were Henry VIII's illegitimate children.
I also very much appreciated the way in which the author presents the evidence and then argues the case for various theories about what happened to Mary and her family. It's nice to be let in on the inside rather than having the 'facts' dictated.

If you’ve listened to books by Josephine Wilkinson before, how does this one compare?

I haven't read Josephine Wilkinson before, but I will certainly search out her work.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I'm sorry to go on about the quality of narration, but for me it can spoil the overall satisfaction of listening to an audiobook. This narrator has a good strong voice but is let down by her pronuniciation of English and frequent stumbles over emphasis. Some words were obvioulsy completely unfamilar to her, such as tryst (pronounced like Trieste) and marquess (as marquee). It's clear that the latter example was picked up by the producer and in later sections the correct pronunciation is delivered. That raises the question as to why all these very glaring faults were not corrected in the editing process?

Any additional comments?

This audiobook has also been subjected to brutal cutting, so there is hardly a pause between one chapter and the next. This only adds to the slightly frenetic mood of this listening experience.

Great start but ending lacks Mary herself

Would you listen to Mary Boleyn again? Why?

No I don't think I would listen to it again. There is little information on Mary Boleyn (compared to her sister Anne) and I feel that, after a good start, it moves on more to what the people around her were doing. It doesn't say much about what Mary was doing, mainly her sister Mary and her father Thomas.

What other book might you compare Mary Boleyn to, and why?

Well will have to be Mary Boleyn by Alison Weir. Both have different opinions but I liked this one's opinion on Catherine and Henry Carey being the King's children.

What three words best describe Debra Burton’s voice?

Struggling but calming and direct

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Anne Boleyn was executed.