The Lady in the Tower, by Jean Plaidy

Anne Boleyn grew up in the French court, observing the sophisticated ladies and learning how to catch eyes. She was then sent home to England, where she was expected to marry well and raise the family's standing. But she overcame obstacles and everyone's expectations, by earning the attention of King Henry VIII. Although Katherine of Aragorn's only flaw was a failing to produce princes, he set her aside in order to marry Anne, tearing church and country apart. Anne had risen high, but now she was caught in a trap of her own making, and after three years was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

The Tudors are fascinating. Henry's fathers were commoners; Anne's father was only a country lord. It seems that those who rise the highest are those who have the farthest to fall. It's so sad- as told by this book, she didn't even love Henry, and for her he tore apart the country, and then threw her away for Jane Seymour. It's scary to think that even the queens are so unstable, and the kings have no thought but for themselves.

Jean Plaidy has written a lot of books about the Tudors and England, and is also known as Eleanor Hibbert, and Victoria Holt.