The Raven's Widow: A Novel of Jane Boleyn

I have always felt sorry for Lady Jane Boleyn because of the way some writers have interpreted her character and the events leading up to the execution of Anne and George Boleyn.This book starts with the arrest of Jane after Henry 8th found out about Queen Katherine Howard cheating on him with another man and believed that Jane had been an accomplice to the affair and her looking back at the events leading up to the arrest and execution of her husband and sister in law. The research is excellent (but I feel I have to stress it is FICTION after reading some reviews of other Tudor books!) and is very well written.I have just started reading another book by this author and I would recommend her to anyone who enjoys reading about the Tudors.

I love books on the Tudor times. The more I read, the more I understand that most of the main characters were victims of some sort, from Henry down. Their lives were dictated by religion, greed and betrayal. To live in such an atmosphere must have been difficult if not soul destroying. And your life could change in an instance, depending on who had the king's ear. So I sympathize with Jane, who I think only wanted a contented life, with a husband who loved her and children of her own, but was cruelly denied this.

I loved this book from the very first words just I did her first book Cor Rotto and I couldn't put either of them down. Adrienne Dillard has the uncanny and rare ability of being able to draw the reader in to the point where they are an unseen observer in her storylines.We know so little about Jane Boleyn as she has been much maligned in history, so it was wonderful to see another side to Jane, as a loving honourable and good natured woman, who was cruelly exploited by one man (Cromwell) and murdered just as cruelly by another (Henry 8th)I can't wait to for her next book.

I really enjoyed this book. What sets it apart from other Tudor books was its clarity. It was like going to the cinema . The writing was so clear and informative. This auther captured the time and place beautifully. The people became real , and the setting was like today rather than hundreds of year ago.TOP MARKS .

A great well written novel , I love Adrienne spin on the life of Jane . I did have to keep reminding myself about whom the story was about , I love how Jane was portrayed much better in my opinion and more true to how her life was .I love to read historical fiction with actual fact within it ,I must say after reading the last page I had tears in my eyes for Jane

I am so pleased this novel has been written - I feel that Jane Boleyn has had a very bad press in the past, and this book will do a lot to improve her public persona. She was, after all, almost sidelined by her sister-in-law whilst her husband danced attendance on her. No wonder she testified against him at his trial for incest!

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Although this is a work of fiction it was a riveting read highlighting the stresses of living at the Tudor court

I was fascinated to read a book about Jane Boleyn; never seen one before - they are always about Anne ( which I enjoy too) so I thought I should try it and I did - and really enjoyed it. I would recommend to folk who like historical novels with a bit of poetic licence!

A meticulously researched and engaging novel about the much-maligned Jane Rochford, widow of George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford by the talented Adrienne Dillard.

Enjoyable and easy read. It certainly portrays a different view of Jane Boleyn and her husband and provides food for thought. More historical references would have enhanced the authors viewpoint.

One of the things I liked most about this novel is that the author grasps the difference between fiction and historical evidence. I’ve read sufficient Tudor research, including Julia Fox’s excellent biography of Jane Boleyn, to have an idea of what is actually known about Lady Rochford and what has been presumed. While the facts of Jane Boleyn’s life are sparce, Dillard takes these facts and uses them to support her fictional tale in much the same way a trellis supports climbing roses; the end result is beautiful and as sturdy as human ingenuity can make it. There are things that Dillard has to invent, but they are plausible and they fit the historical record.I am certainly not adverse to suspending disbelief for a good read, much in the way a physicist has to relinquish reality to enjoy Star Trek or Star Wars, but my favorite books are the ones that are both well written and as accurate as possible. If a book has good word-smithing then I will ignore yet another depiction of George Boleyn as a homosexual murderer or rapist, even if my eyes do roll back into my head occasionally with the exasperation. Thankfully, while reading The Raven’s Widow, my eyes didn’t roll back even once. Rather, they teared up at some of the more moving passages, and I was filled with a desperate pain thinking of the agony of seeing a beloved husband judicially murdered for a crime you knew he didn’t commit.I also enjoyed the lack of traditional “bad guys” in this novel. I’ve noticed that writers frequently make Anne Boleyn a monster to support Catherine of Aragon (or vice versa), but this work avoided that oversimplified trap. Instead of paper-thin depictions of manipulative devils, the major characters were drawn with an appealing complexity that made them fully human, with all the good and evil being human entails. This included the central protagonist. Jane Boleyn was not perfect and her mistakes were not all neatly explained away by saint-like altruism, but was instead a person capable of both wisdom and folly, cruelty and kindness. She was fleshed out in an incredibly believable way that didn’t sacrifice the readers ability to empathize with her.Finally (and unusually!), I loved the author’s notes at the finish of the novel. Dillard explains the paucity of facts she was working with, and is forthright about the fact she wanted to give Lady Rochford her humanity back after centuries of being depicted as a plotting, devious, bawd. Most off all, Dillard proclaimed that, “the most important thing I want you, Dear Reader, to remember is that this a work of fiction. … [I] have made as many assumptions about Jane’s life as any other historian, but the choices I’ve made in my poetic license of telling her story are with the benefit of the doubt. I’ve interpreted the evidence available in the best possible light.” As for the actions that Jane has been so soundly condemned for, such as her presumed testimony against her husband and sister-in-law and her actually testimony against Queen Katheryn Howard, Dillard points out that her “reasons for her behavior died with her so I could only guess as to her motivations.” Dillard also cites several books, all of which I personally approve of as a historian, as her source materials. I cannot tell you how refreshing I find this honesty and commitment to the history underlying the narrative process.

What a great effort to reconstruct the historical facts available to us; Adrienne Dillard's fine research has made Jane Parker Boleyn a sympathetic as well as dramatic figure. I applaud her for that and totally agree; a 10 year marriage, where Jane cohabited with George Boleyn and lived in the court supports this hypothesis.There are many people who were players in, and victims of, Henry VIII 's cruel narcissistic rampage through his reign who deserve our sympathies. Jane apparently was one such and I am sure that Mary Boleyn and her children were also. Adrienne's fine first novel "Cor Rotto" sheds light on Mary Boleyn's life after Henry though her daughter Catherine Carey Knollys.This novel has even more depth, character development as well as giving readers historical vignette's back and forth in time. A very fine Author's note take us through the known facts, including many that were unknown up until fairly recently.Jane Boleyn was, and is, a sympathetic figure of course; who would not be who was executed in this time? What the author has done is to make her a vivid and believable heroine who was resilient for as long as she could . I look for more by this fine author.Recommended for fans of those affected by Henry VIII and other novels in this turbulent era.

Winter is a good time to curl up with a cup of tea, a hooky, and a novel. Dillard's is a very good choice. Jane Boleyn, the wife of George (brother of the infamous Anne), is usually portrayed as a harpy, a shrew, and the woman who condemned her husband and sister in law to death. Later she is seen as getting her comeuppance as the woman in black who helped Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's 5th wife betray him. But this novel gives us a portrait of a young woman, Jane Parker, who marries reluctantly, but loves and lives. Emotions, flesh and bones are given to this woman. And though it is a work of fiction it is the first I've read about her and a good one.

An excellent alternative view of the infamous Lady Rochford. The author stresses several times at the end of the book that this is a book of fiction, which I think is unnecessary. It's a fiction book, and for those who believe it gospel, let that be their issue, not your's, Ms. Dillard. You have created a totally feasible book, a nice change of pace from the usual Jane Boleyn books. We have no proof she was evil personified, and your story is very creative and well written. I look forward to your next novel.

This is an excellent book.It offers a unique perspective of Jane Boleyn and was an enjoyable read, even when it contradicted my previous assumptions about Jane's character and motivations.In all my readings about the Tudors, this is the first book I've read that has compelled me to consider that Jane was more than history paints her, that she was a woman not so very different from me--- that she loved, suffered loss, entertained longings and dreams, experienced all the great joys of marriages along with the challenges, and that she was conflicted and afflicted by circumstances outside her control.Adrienne Dillard's descriptive writing is so excellent that I felt I was an eyewitness to every event of Jane's life.While you may beg to differ with the author's take on Jane, you will certainly enjoy the journey through Jane's life as the Raven's Widow tells you her story in her own words.

This book gives you an entirely different picture of Jane Boleyn. Most books make her out to be not a very nice woman and very jealous of Anne Boleyn. While you are reading this book you start to really like her and realize she is a very caring and thoughtful lady. This is, of course, my feeling about the book while someone else may read it and feel entirely differently. The one thing that stood out for me was that she liked Anne, her sister-in-law, and truly loved her husband, George. I have always enjoyed Adrienne Dillard's books and this one was no exception.

A new (to me at least) take on the infamous "Lady Rochford". Dillard's use of the first person was a little awkward to deal with at the start, but her portrayal of Jane Boleyn as a tender and sometimes bewildered member of the Tudor court was refreshing and entertaining. And *spoiler alert* the detailing of her struggle with sanity at the end was so much more engaging than when it's written as a ploy to avoid execution. Definitely worth the time if you enjoy Philippa Gregory's take on the Boleyn family, but occasionally hoped for more balance than "lookit this evil b**** over here"

I liked the story even though it went overboard in whitewashing Jane, George and Anne. Would have loved to see all sides of them and not just the good parts of each.It would have been nice if the author would have explained in better depth exactly why Jane was sent to the tower and then the block for the young adults and those not familiar with the story. Maybe the author should have expanded the story to include Katherine Howard's story and the intrigues that included Culpepper and Dereham.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well written book about another historical person, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, about whom very little is actually known. It didn’t matter that it was for the most part a work of fiction, thats what novels are all about.

Absolutely wonderful! Adrienne Dillard has created a wonderful new positive image of the forever vilified Jane Parker Boleyn! Under Ms. Dillard's pen, Jane jumps of the page as a vibrant, inquisitive, intelligent, and complex three dimensional woman who truly was a victim of circumstances basically her entire adult life. From her doomed marriage to George Boleyn to becoming a pawn for Katherine Howard's extramarital exploits, she's finally shown as a real person who had to make impossible choices all of which led to her beheading.In the past Jane has always been portrayed as a two dimensional, snippish, conniving, unintelligent, loose moraled and jealously unstable girl who was always sneaking around, plotting against her husband and his family, listening at doors and peeping in keyholes. Adrienne Dillard has stripped all of this away to give us a real person who despite her problems faced them with dignity and fortitude.Granted this is historical fiction, but despite this fact I still feel Ms. Dillard has given us an absolutely fantastic opportunity to view this woman in an entirely new light. I can only hope that either she or another writer picks up this new image of Jane and writes a biography depicting the real woman instead of focusing on one made up of second hand gossip and negative views from people who either didn't know her at all or simply disliked her from the start due to her connection with the Boleyn family.The crown jewel of this book though is Ms. Dillard herself! Her writing style is such that from the first sentence to the last, it invites the reader in and wraps the story around you like a warm blanket on a cold winter's day! The only drawback? It was so great I read it in a day, leaving me wanting more, so I'm eagerly awaiting her next book!

What a refreshing change of pace, an actual love story between Jane Parker Boleyn and George Boleyn. The author is very gifted, writing in an engaging, interesting, and engrossing style. I can't wait to read her other book. I highly recommend "The Raven's Widow" if you are a fan of all things Tudor. I couldn't put it down!

Who did Jane have sex with? Who else did Jane have sex who was not called as a witness? Was there any truth to Jane being a person who snooped into the life of others? Who were these people? Was there any person who was called as a witness?

Quite the TudorFan here....What an original this is......what a LOVELY read....great experience to settle for a brief visit to the 14th century.