Sunday, February 10, 2013

Question from Tracey - Smith and Ives Boleyn biographies

Smith vs Ives...

Lacey Baldwin Smith's bio of Anne Boleyn is being re-issued. I'd be interested in knowing the differences between his work and the excellent offering by Eric Ives. If a person only had time to read one....which should it be?

1 comment:

Foose said...

I don't think that the Baldwin Smith book is a re-issue. I did some initial research on it when I ran across it on Amazon, and couldn't find a record of the book have been previously published.

I had assumed, frankly, that the author was dead and possibly this was actually a re-issue of his book on Kathryn Howard, but Amazon had screwed up the title.

However, it looks like it really is a new book on Anne Boleyn, with cover art, and a synopsis - promising a "startling new discovery on why Anne Boleyn was executed" - and much anticipation in the field.

Ives is clearly the gold standard, and I think his book is essential reading for anyone interested in Anne. The Baldwin Smith book could also be another formidable study that will break new ground, but as it hasn't been published yet we just don't know. His books on treason in Tudor England and the Howard queen have always been cited in scholarly bibliographies and are generally highly regarded (although they were published decades ago and scholarship has moved on).

The only thing that concerns me is that Amberley, the publishing house for this book, still does not list it on its Website.