The Raven's Widow

The Raven's Widow is a historical biography of Jane Boleyn. Her sister-in-law was Anne Boleyn who became Henry VIII's wife. It was published in September 2022. I selected the book for the What's in a Name Challenge under the NFL Team category.

The publisher's summary: 

Jane Parker never dreamed her marriage into the Boleyn family would raise her star to such dizzying heights. Before long, she finds herself as trusted servant and confidante to her sister-in-law, Anne Boleyn—King Henry VIII’s second queen. On a gorgeous spring day, that golden era is cut short by the swing of a sword. Jane is unmoored by the tragic death of her husband, George, and the loss sets her on a reckless path leading to her own imprisonment in the Tower of London. Surrounded by the remnants of her former life, Jane must come to terms with her actions. In the Tower, she will face up to who she really is and how everything went so wrong.

This was such a compelling story! I did not know much about Jane Boleyn before reading this story. The author, Adrienne Dillard, added articles before it began and at the end giving the historical record concerning her. Basically, not much is known about Jane. There has been false information published about her in the past 20 years which Dillard corrects. That said, she has created a Jane Parker Boleyn character as a sympathetic as well as a dramatic figure. 

In this novel, (SPOILER ALERT) Jane stays true to her convictions. She continues to serve Queen Catherine while her sister-in-law Anne is flirting with Henry. After Catherine is removed from the palace Jane's husband, George Boleyn, convinces her to support Anne. Family ties are important not only to Jane but also to the rest of the Boleyn family. Jane continues to support Anne even after she is arrested and placed in the Tower of London. Jane escapes the death penalty while her sister-in-law and George are executed on the same day. Jane is assigned to serve the next queen Katherine Howard. 5 years later she must decide whether to save her life or tell the truth about Katherine. Jane does both but is sentenced to death anyway even though no one believes that she is guilty of treason. 

I liked this Jane. She was honest to a fault. Dillard did a fine job presenting her as this sympathetic character. Although the only real facts about Jane are that she married and cohabited with George for their ten year marriage, I like that Dillard wrote a novel correcting the historical record of Jane as a power hungry woman who hated her husband.

5 out of 5 stars.