Welcome to On the Tudor Trail Raven! Could you share with us a little about yourself and your background?
I’m Raven A. Nuckols, 27/F living in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area with my boyfriend Jose of four years and our two ferocious cats, Duchess a full bred Siamese and Zorro a loving Bombay. For the past eight years I’ve worked as a Federal contractor writing policy, procedures and processes. My parents have been married nearly 30 years and I have three sisters with no brothers and four nieces and nephews though no children of our own – yet. Within the last year have been seeking new outlets to focus my true passion – which is writing. My obsession, with the Tudors began about 2006 a year before the Showtime Series; and I’ve been in love with all things Anne Boleyn and Tudors ever since. I find so much of myself in her that I think that’s what draws me into her as a character and why she’s so great to write about.
What do you think was and still is the lure of Anne Boleyn?
Anne was a woman centuries ahead of her time. Her fierce spirit, ability to lead by force, power over the King and intellectual prowess made her a tremendous threat to those at court. She was unlike any of the courtiers vying for the King’s affections and her sense of fashion along with dramatic looks made her a central figure at court. Her powerful personality has been an inspiration for centuries that in such a male dominated time; such an intense female lead was in power is tremendous.
What inspired you to write Had the Queen Lived: An Alternative History of Anne Boleyn?
There were so many questions surrounding her as a person, a Queen and her current works for the Reformation in 1536 that were left unanswered with her execution. I had wondered for years really what it might have been like, had she lived and I decided one evening to take that a step further and really develop the concepts that I believed might have happened. It was such an amazing journey to have developed these characters, this world, these scenarios and everything that followed that it became almost an addiction to write about this. There was almost this calling that I had to write this story. In all the research I’ve done on Anne, there has never been a book like this before and I couldn’t understand why if she had so many admirers it hadn’t been done so I decided to take my version and see where it led and can only hope that others enjoy the work I’ve done.
Could you share with us a little about the cover art for your book?
The cover art is a custom piece by artist Philip Howe out of Washington State who created the piece at my request. Since all of the known pieces of art were destroyed after her execution, save the few we know about today; I wanted a cover the reflected contemporary accounts of what she might have looked like on the day of her coronation and with Philip’s extraordinary talents, together we were able to bring my vision of her on that particular day alive and it turned out even more beautiful than I had expected. It is a true oil piece painted on canvas in the similar style of the 16th century painters that would’ve been alive in Anne’s time to make as close to reality as possible for the readers to really embrace them right from the start in the story. You can see his other work at http://www.philiphowe.com/.
For close to 100 years, Anne Boleyn has been portrayed in film and on stage. In your opinion, what actress has best captured her essence?
I may be a bit biased here but Natalie Dormer by far was the best actress to portray Anne in years. I never quite felt that the others got it right, but she had such a sense of presence about her absolutely nailed it for me at least. As a viewer that was so important because when I was watching Natalie, I felt as though I really was seeing Anne. She performed the role flawlessly and it made it such a pleasure for me to watch.
The debate about Anne Boleyn’s date of birth has raged for many years. One school of thought believes that she was born in 1501, while another insists 1507. What are your thoughts on the matter?
These kinds of dates are always so difficult to decipher. Personally, I believe the 1501 date and that would’ve made her close to 36 when she died. If you take a look at the notes between Anne and her father while she was serving as a lady to the Queen in France, it suggests adolescence that even six years difference would’ve made quite a difference.
Do you think that Henry VIII ever truly fell out of love with Anne?
Never. I believe he loved her up until the day he died, he still loved her and forbidding her name to be spoken to me just proves it. I believe that there truly is such a thin line between intense love and hate that for the two of them, who happened to have such passion between them, it was a natural progression over time should she not give him his great desire it to turn violent. For me, she was the love of Henry’s life without question.
There are so many things that I wish I knew about Anne. What did she sound like? Did she have a happy childhood? Was she ever involved romantically with Thomas Wyatt? What are some of the questions that feature prominently in your thoughts?
Being that Anne was born in Blickling, I believe she probably had a typical accent of her time, possibly a bit harsh and difficult to understand. Her childhood I imagine was typical of most courtier’s children, since little is documented on her relationship with her mother or her siblings I imagine she spent most time playing on her vast estate while her father was away at court and enjoyed a life of leisure for the most part as a child; but would also be taught certain home making skills and perhaps it was here that she started to enjoy needlepoint work.
I believe Thomas Wyatt was nothing more than a fleeting schoolboy crush. Anne wouldn’t have given away her precious virtue on a fling, but I do believe they possibly flirted or even courted slightly but nothing of a serious physical nature and that later in life he remained one of her biggest supporters and truest friends up until the very end.
There are so many questions that surround me about Anne in general that this question is difficult, but perhaps the one that immediately sticks out to me is when exactly she fell in love with Henry? Every woman has a point, I’m curious what hers was and when.
Have you ever visited places associated with Anne and the Tudors? If so, do you have a favourite location?
Sadly not yet, though this coming September 2011 I will be visiting Hever Castle, Hampton Court, Westminster Abbey and other places associated with her and I’m terribly excited to do so. One of the sites I’m also anxious to see is the still standing Gracechurch Street where her procession route went down.
Finish off this sentence. From her mother Elizabeth I inherited…
Her mother’s passionate personality when she latched onto something she so enjoyed.
Thank you for your time Raven!
{Sigh}… Yet another book on my to-read list ….
Very interesting! It would be a different world, I think, if Anne and all of those other courtiers had lived. Wow!
I enjoy many books about Anne Boleyn and have often wondered what if the child she carried in 1536 had not been lost in January and had gone to full term, being born a healthy son in June/July 1536 and lived. Would Anne have taken revenge on her enemies had she now remained as Henry’s Queen? Did Henry love her enough to remain happily married to her, or would she merely have done her duty and they just lived together in public to raise their son? Would she have simply have continued to be a mere baby making machine, securing the succession with another son and may-be another couple of children, ever so often when Henry felt like paying her a visit? What role could she have played or would she have played in raising Elizabeth and in promoting the Bible in English? Could she have regained Henry’s deep devotion, or was there more than just her failure to have a son behind his changed relationship with her?
What of those that she had made as her enemies? Could they have ever have turned Henry against her if she gave him a son or two?
And what of Henry? Do you have to assume that he did not fall from his horse and continued to be active in 1536? An active Henry would not have put on the massive amount of weight that he later did and he would not have damaged his temporal lobes and thus had the mood swings that led to so man violent rages later on and to his changed personality. Could a reconciled Anne Boleyn, honoured and safe in Henry’s affections have prevented the demise of the English Church to the extent of the religious houses being demolished, and persuaded Henry to reform but not destroy. Would the pilgrimage of grace have still taken place? And what about Henry’s wars with France? Would he still have gone to France and would Anne have been his regent?
What about Jane Seymour? Would she have become Henry’s long term mistress and his life companion, a rival for Anne, despite Anne’s success? Would the succession have been different? Yes, and I also believe Henry would have lived another 10 years at least, seeing a son rise to power and to adulthood and England to a Golden Age, not under Elizabeth, but under a son of King Henry VIII. I also see a role for the very clever and ambitious Elizabeth and a role in international events for Mary, married to a Spanish Prince and having lots of children.
Alternatively, I see a demise of Anne, having given Henry a son, she is still disposed off, forced by her enemies to accept life in a nunnery or abroad, and living separately from Henry, and then agreeing to a divorce. After this he marries Jane and has another son. A struggle for the crown begins.
Anyhow, I look forward to reading your book when it comes out next year.
Cheers
Lyn-Marie
I adore Anne and Henry VIII and can’t wait to read your book I’m so excited.