Aside from fascinating content chosen, Susan Bordo is an exceptional writer. We're about the same age but I consider Bordo my professor, and wish I had such talent when I went to university.
Another wonderful piece on Anne Boleyn, the Tudors and court intrigue. I really liked the Keith Michel “Six Wives of Henry VIII and became intrigued with the Tudors (and Anne Boleyn) because of it. On a family trip to England, we got to see a costume exhibition from the show at Hampton Court. Thus began my lifetime interest in all things Anne Boleyn. In college I enrolled in an introductory course in the History of England/British Isles. It was my good fortune to be in the class of a fantastic professor who took all the fiction from film and tv out of our historical knowledge and taught us how to discern fact from fiction. (On top of that he had a foolproof formula for persuasive essay writing ). He drilled us on critical thinking and analysis. Pretty much made us all into natural skeptics. I loved Anne of the Thousand Days for Genevieve Bujold and Richard Burton’s portrayals and the wonderful Georges Delerue score. Not overly fond of The Tudors; almost like Dame Barbara Cartland wrote a history book. And Natalie Dorman with BLUE eyes! (Like Claire Foy in Wolf Hall). Most people today are ill informed about fact checking, fact vs fiction, and verifying sources. The Other Boleyn Girl underwhelmed me. I’m firmly in the Anne was railroaded camp.
I am always attracted to books, TV shows, and films about the Tudors, even after knowing the prevailing beliefs about what happened. I think this latest look at Thomas Cromwell was very well done. Knowing what was about to happen, I just couldn't watch the end.
But I am not in agreement with the history-changers unless they are, like Lucy Worsley, discovering the truth that lies behind a 'myth.'
So I was also not thrilled with the 2018 film, "Mary Queen of Scots." This telling has Elizabeth and Mary meet up and in a strange out of the way cabin, hung with drying bed sheets. I know Eliz avoided condemning her cousin to death, but eventually with enough evidence, she signed the paper. And Eliz had a very competent and cautious 'handler' in William Cecil, who had his hands full with his huge network of spies, thwarting assassination attempts. Why would he create this vulnerable meeting of two intense rivals?
This meeting is like the "Henry visited Anne in the Tower" scene. Drama for dramas sake and a personal point of view. And these days there can also be a realtively uneducated audience that may take it for fact.
I share your view of that film. And of this final season of the Cromwell series. But you HAVE to watch the end. It’s really well done. (Anne’s execution in the second season of the series was done well, too. Painful to watch, but more realistic than the others.)
I'll try...I have it recorded and on Passport for PBS. I just cared a lot about him...far less about Anne because she always seems so controlling and I do wonder what she got up to. Agree about her execution scene. I knew Cromwell's story but I still worried when he would say things he should have kept to himself. ✨😥Those castle walls had ears and mouths that ran to tell to prove their loyalty.
Historical novels and movies are imaginative re-creations. These must adhere to historical fact, when known. When not, the writer is free to fill in the blanks. The only test is, could this have reasonably happened?
I agree about filling in the blanks. But much of Tudor fiction in books and movies doesn’t just fill in, it invents—often in defiance of the facts, as in “The Other Boleyn Girl.” I don’t put “Wolf Hall” in that category. It doesn’t defy facts or create an absurd narrative. Far from it. But it does ignore some key events that don’t fit with the portrait of Anne that Mantel created. That’s her right as a novelist, but it was disappointing to me to find the same old scheming vixen Anne in a work of such subtlety and power. That portrait has its origins in the writing of Anne’s enemies, like Eustache Chapuys in whose eyes she was a heretic.
I guess I was thinking invent is fine, but in accordance, not defiance of facts. Do you feel Anne of a Thousand Days violates this? This is a beloved portrayal of Anne and, although not a transcription, most assume this is very close to what could have happened.
Wonderful article! I’ve been a fan of Anne since the Six Wives came out when I was in high school!
So, since you’re going to leave us hanging; Jodie Turner-Smith in a miniseries called Anne Boleyn, Amy Manson in Spencer, and the last is a picture from Six!, which I highly recommend, historical accuracy bet damned. The original Broadway actress was Andrea Macasaet, but I don’t know if that’s her.
Thanks and Congrats on getting all three. I expected people to know Jodie Turner-Smith and to recognize “Six!” But I didn’t think many would recognize Amy Manson from Spencer.
I’ll confess to cheating on that one. Her face was so familiar, but I just couldn’t come up with her name so I had my granddaughter do a reverse photo search on google. 🤫
Inquiring minds had to know! I’m feeling a strong desire to watch the Six Wives again. Did you know that Keith Mitchell had a recurring role on Murder She Wrote?
No I didn’t know that. My own favorite Henry, by the way, is Robert Shaw in “A Man for All Seasons.” Not a major role in that, but wonderfully realized.
Aside from fascinating content chosen, Susan Bordo is an exceptional writer. We're about the same age but I consider Bordo my professor, and wish I had such talent when I went to university.
What a lovely comment!! Thank you so much John!!
Another wonderful piece on Anne Boleyn, the Tudors and court intrigue. I really liked the Keith Michel “Six Wives of Henry VIII and became intrigued with the Tudors (and Anne Boleyn) because of it. On a family trip to England, we got to see a costume exhibition from the show at Hampton Court. Thus began my lifetime interest in all things Anne Boleyn. In college I enrolled in an introductory course in the History of England/British Isles. It was my good fortune to be in the class of a fantastic professor who took all the fiction from film and tv out of our historical knowledge and taught us how to discern fact from fiction. (On top of that he had a foolproof formula for persuasive essay writing ). He drilled us on critical thinking and analysis. Pretty much made us all into natural skeptics. I loved Anne of the Thousand Days for Genevieve Bujold and Richard Burton’s portrayals and the wonderful Georges Delerue score. Not overly fond of The Tudors; almost like Dame Barbara Cartland wrote a history book. And Natalie Dorman with BLUE eyes! (Like Claire Foy in Wolf Hall). Most people today are ill informed about fact checking, fact vs fiction, and verifying sources. The Other Boleyn Girl underwhelmed me. I’m firmly in the Anne was railroaded camp.
Thank you Valerie!
I am always attracted to books, TV shows, and films about the Tudors, even after knowing the prevailing beliefs about what happened. I think this latest look at Thomas Cromwell was very well done. Knowing what was about to happen, I just couldn't watch the end.
But I am not in agreement with the history-changers unless they are, like Lucy Worsley, discovering the truth that lies behind a 'myth.'
So I was also not thrilled with the 2018 film, "Mary Queen of Scots." This telling has Elizabeth and Mary meet up and in a strange out of the way cabin, hung with drying bed sheets. I know Eliz avoided condemning her cousin to death, but eventually with enough evidence, she signed the paper. And Eliz had a very competent and cautious 'handler' in William Cecil, who had his hands full with his huge network of spies, thwarting assassination attempts. Why would he create this vulnerable meeting of two intense rivals?
This meeting is like the "Henry visited Anne in the Tower" scene. Drama for dramas sake and a personal point of view. And these days there can also be a realtively uneducated audience that may take it for fact.
I share your view of that film. And of this final season of the Cromwell series. But you HAVE to watch the end. It’s really well done. (Anne’s execution in the second season of the series was done well, too. Painful to watch, but more realistic than the others.)
I'll try...I have it recorded and on Passport for PBS. I just cared a lot about him...far less about Anne because she always seems so controlling and I do wonder what she got up to. Agree about her execution scene. I knew Cromwell's story but I still worried when he would say things he should have kept to himself. ✨😥Those castle walls had ears and mouths that ran to tell to prove their loyalty.
Historical novels and movies are imaginative re-creations. These must adhere to historical fact, when known. When not, the writer is free to fill in the blanks. The only test is, could this have reasonably happened?
I agree about filling in the blanks. But much of Tudor fiction in books and movies doesn’t just fill in, it invents—often in defiance of the facts, as in “The Other Boleyn Girl.” I don’t put “Wolf Hall” in that category. It doesn’t defy facts or create an absurd narrative. Far from it. But it does ignore some key events that don’t fit with the portrait of Anne that Mantel created. That’s her right as a novelist, but it was disappointing to me to find the same old scheming vixen Anne in a work of such subtlety and power. That portrait has its origins in the writing of Anne’s enemies, like Eustache Chapuys in whose eyes she was a heretic.
I guess I was thinking invent is fine, but in accordance, not defiance of facts. Do you feel Anne of a Thousand Days violates this? This is a beloved portrayal of Anne and, although not a transcription, most assume this is very close to what could have happened.
Wonderful article! I’ve been a fan of Anne since the Six Wives came out when I was in high school!
So, since you’re going to leave us hanging; Jodie Turner-Smith in a miniseries called Anne Boleyn, Amy Manson in Spencer, and the last is a picture from Six!, which I highly recommend, historical accuracy bet damned. The original Broadway actress was Andrea Macasaet, but I don’t know if that’s her.
Thanks and Congrats on getting all three. I expected people to know Jodie Turner-Smith and to recognize “Six!” But I didn’t think many would recognize Amy Manson from Spencer.
I’ll confess to cheating on that one. Her face was so familiar, but I just couldn’t come up with her name so I had my granddaughter do a reverse photo search on google. 🤫
I suspected as much!
Inquiring minds had to know! I’m feeling a strong desire to watch the Six Wives again. Did you know that Keith Mitchell had a recurring role on Murder She Wrote?
No I didn’t know that. My own favorite Henry, by the way, is Robert Shaw in “A Man for All Seasons.” Not a major role in that, but wonderfully realized.