From Hilary Mantel’s bestselling novels to a Showtime series, Anne Boleyn haunts us still. But why? Lauren Elkin on a new book, The Creation of Anne Boleyn, that traces the uses and abuses of her body, image, and legend throughout history.
Anne Boleyn already had a few counts against her when in 1536 Thomas Cromwell and the Seymours saw which way the wind was blowing, and decided to sweep her out of the way: Henry VIII wanted a new wife and Jane Seymour was waiting in the wings.
