The Sphere of Light: Secrets of the Boleyn Women

This captivating novel evolves like a detective story, as a family member airbrushed out of history sets out to uncover the well-kept secrets of the three Boleyn women: Why was Mary, King Henry VIII’s sweetheart, unaccountably disgraced and banished from court? How did Anne come to be executed, along with her brother and four others, on false, trumped-up charges? And what drove Jane, first to give false fatal evidence against her own kin, and then risk – and lose – her head for the part she played in Queen Katherine Howard’s adultery? The startling conclusion of this book, endorsed by eminent Tudor historians, settles these age-old mysteries.

Table of Contents:
1) Foreword; 2) The Sphere of Light; 3) Hever Castle, Christmas Day 1525.; 4) A London Tavern, Christmas Day 1525; 5) Hever Castle, Christmas Day 1525; 6) Hever Castle, March 1527; 7) Hever Castle, June 1528; 8) Hever Castle, December 1529; 9) The Exchequer, Calais, October 1532; 10) The Tower of London, May 1533; 11) A Field by the Thames, June 1533; 12) Whitehall Palace, September 1534; 13) The Tower of London, May 1536; 14) Whitehall Palace, February 1540; 15) A London Square, January 1542; 16) The Tower of London, February 1542; 17) The Sphere of Light; 18) Author's notes

About the Author :
Ann Henning Jocelyn gave up a promising academic career in her native Sweden for work in the London theatre. Then, after marrying Robert Jocelyn, Earl of Roden, she settled in the West of Ireland, at Doonreagan, the beautiful country home where Ted Hughes once lived and where "a warm flow of inspiration" brought forth some of his best loved poems. Over the decades, Jocelyn has written a large number of best-selling books and stage plays, published and produced in many parts of the world. She is also well established as a tri-lingual literary translator, working with leading authors such as Nobel Laureates Kazuo Ishiguro and Jon Fosse. A favourite commission was to spend many months with Ingrid Bergman, doing the research and Swedish version of the film star's biography, My Life.

Review :
"Captivating, sumptuous in detail and thrillingly plotted - a triumph!" Dr Owen Emmerson." "After Hilary Mantel and Alison Weir, is there room for more on the Boleyn story? Actually, there is. It is an engrossing story, and Jocelyn deserves credit for finding a lucid structure in which to unravel it once more, getting the balance right between the complexities of family and court politics under Henry VIII." Professor Tim Hochstrasser. "Engaging and deeply moving, bringing convincing new insights into the Boleyn story." Dr Damien Duffy. "Ann Henning Jocelyn's brilliant book has rewritten English history. I recommend in particular her clear and concise Author's Notes. They transform our understanding of the English Reformation and are essential reading for anyone interested in the Tudor period." Dr Gerald Morgan FTCD.