Behind The Book The Boleyn Secret With Alison Weir

I’m glad to announce that I’m interviewing returning guest and New York Times & Sunday Times Bestselling Author of historical fiction and historical nonfiction, Alison Weir! In this Behind The Book we will delve deep into discussing her upcoming release The Boleyn Secret which will be available on May 26^th!

 Q: Welcome back to Book Notions Alison! Would you give a brief description of The Boleyn Secret?

 A: It’s great to be back, Bianca! The Boleyn Secret recounts the unsung story of a remarkable woman who had a ring-side seat to some of the most precarious and pivotal passages of Tudor history. Katherine Carey, Anne Boleyn’s niece, learned young how to negotiate the knife-edges of the court, developing deep loyalties and cautious allegiances. She married for love, had fifteen pregnancies, had to flee England and live as a fugitive for a time, and carried a momentous and dangerous secret about her origins all her adult life. Her story is as fascinating as it is gripping.

Q: What fascinated you about writing a historical fiction novel about Katherine Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn? Do you believe that Katherine is the daughter of Henry VIII?

A: I’m not going to be drawn on that one! I had done a lot of research on Katherine for my biography of Mary Boleyn (2011), but I realized there was far more to her story than just being related to the Boleyns. She knew deep love, peril and heartbreak, and she was close to the ever-mercurial Elizabeth I, who did not treat her well.  

Q: How long did it take you to research Katherine Carey’s story & what do you hope readers take away after they finish reading her story?

A: It took several months to update my research, and I dare say that if I had been attempting a biography, there would have been more to find, but I had ample source material on which to base a novel.

Q: If you were able to either time travel to the 1500s or if Katherine Carey were alive today and you were able to interview her, what questions would you ask her if you could?

 A: I would ask her what she really thought about Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and how she viewed her mother, Mary Boleyn, and her aunt, Anne Boleyn. I would ask her where she spent the years before her marriage, as we can only surmise where she grew up. And I would, of course, ask her about the big secret in her life and how much of an impact it had on her.