Book Launch Spotlight: Mary Boleyn: The Queen's Slandered Sister, by Sylvia Barbara Soberton

Available for pre-order 

from Amazon UK

Mary Boleyn has long been dismissed as the 'great and infamous whore', her story overshadowed by scandal and myth.

But what if everything we thought we knew about her was wrong?

Drawing on newly retranslated original sources and rare archival material, Mary Boleyn: The Queen's Slandered Sister peels away centuries of rumour to reveal the true Mary Boleyn. 

Far from the reckless wanton of legend, she emerges as a woman of ambition, resilience, and intelligence. Acclaimed historian Sylvia Barbara Soberton challenges outdated narratives, uncovering the real extent of Mary's relationships with Henry VIII and Francis I, her role in the rise and fall of her younger sister Anne, and her life beyond the royal spotlight.

‘Compellingly argued and meticulously researched, Sylvia Barbara Soberton brings this other Boleyn girl out of the shadows. Mary Boleyn: The Queen’s Slandered Sister presents readers with a new version of Mary, asking us to look again at the life of an important figure at the Tudor court, whose life has been linked to scandal for far too many centuries. Highly recommended.’ -- Dr Elizabeth Norton

‘Sylvia Barbara Soberton has done it again! In Mary Boleyn she weaves every known primary source into a fascinating and lucid narrative. Arguing that the black reputation of this Boleyn sister is unwarranted, Soberton reviews the evidence and presents a compelling alternative view. She also follows up on the major figures associated with Boleyn whose lives tend to vanish into history. The compact study offers a handy appendix with transcriptions of Boleyn’s letters and other relevant historical documents.’ -- Professor Tracy Adams 

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About the Author

Sylvia Barbara Soberton is a writer and researcher specialising in the history of the Tudors. She is best known for The Forgotten Tudor Women book series, which concentrates on shifting the perspective from famous figures like Henry VIII’s six wives to the lesser-known, but no less influential, women of the Tudor court. Sylvia has written ten books to date, and her newest titles include The Forgotten Years of Anne Boleyn: The Habsburg & Valois Courts, Ladies-in-Waiting: Women Who Served Anne Boleyn and Medical Downfall of the Tudors: Sex, Reproduction & Succession. Her ground-breaking paper on Anne Boleyn and the accusation of witchcraft was published in the Royal Studies Journal in 2023.  You can find Sylvia on Facebook,  Goodreads, Twitter @SylviaBSo and Bluesky @sylviabso.bsky.social