Description
In 1433, Geoffrey Bullen owned a few acres of farmland near the village of Salle in Norfolk. A century later, his great-great-granddaughter, Anne Boleyn, born at nearby Blickling, was crowned Queen of England alongside Henry VIII. And her daughter, Elizabeth, went on to reign as Queen for 40 years.
Today we often hear talk of social mobility, but how, in the feudal and class oriented society of 15th and 16th century England, did the Boleyn family manage to rise from their humble origins in Norfolk to the pinnacle of the nobility?
The Boleyns of Blickling traces the ascent of the family through clever business decisions and good marriages to the heights of their ambition. There is a detailed description of the early generations and an explanation of how they acquired wealth and influence, leading to Sir Geoffrey Boleyn’s purchase of Blickling. The stories of Sir William Boleyn, Sir Thomas Boleyn and his children Mary, Anne and George (all born at Blickling) are expanded and we learn of the events that lead up to Anne’s marriage to Henry VIII and her ultimate downfall. The final chapters investigate what happened to the remainder of the Boleyn family after Anne’s death and how Anne’s daughter Elizabeth came to the throne.
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