Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies

Written by Hayley Nolan

Narrated by Hayley Nolan

A bold new analysis of one of history’s most misrepresented women.

History has lied.

Anne Boleyn has been sold to us as a dark figure, a scheming seductress who bewitched Henry VIII into divorcing his queen and his church in an unprecedented display of passion. Quite the tragic love story, right?

Wrong.

In this electrifying exposé Hayley Nolan explores for the first time the full, uncensored evidence of Anne Boleyn’s life and relationship with Henry VIII, revealing the shocking suppression of a powerful woman.

So leave all notions of outdated and romanticised folklore at the door and forget what you think you know about one of the Tudors’ most notorious queens. She may have been silenced for centuries, but this urgent book ensures Anne Boleyn’s voice is being heard now.

#TheTruthWillOut

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781799749233

Hayley Nolan

Hayley Nolan is a historian, TEDx Speaker, United Nations Delegate and Anne Boleyn biographer. In 2024 she will become an Associate of King’s College London. Her non-fiction book, Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies, was an Amazon History No1 Bestseller and introduced her as an exciting new voice in the field. Hayley trained in the archives of the British Library specialising in the research of historical manuscripts and rare books as part of a joint Master’s degree at King’s College London in Early Modern Text and Transmission. Her history TEDx talk was filmed on stage at King’s College London in 2023 titled 'Anne Boleyn and the Art of Making Unpopular Decisions' and is streaming free on the official TED website. Hayley's research has led her to work with a variety of establishments from Houses of Parliament on the #BeMoreBoleyn campaign, to social media app Tiktok on their #LearnOnTiktok campaign. Over the years, she has partnered with Historic Royal Palaces (Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace), Anne Boleyn’s childhood home of Hever Castle, the English Heritage site of Eltham Plalace, Henry VIII’s childhood home, and the House of Commons for the 2017 General Election. She has been the historical researcher and host of 'The History Review' Podcast and vlogumentary series. Now with over 200,000 followers on Tiktok where her history videos have 25 million views, Hayley is committed to disseminating historical research to the people in an accessible and digestible way.

Reviews for Anne Boleyn

[Laura Felschow · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Author’s performance is over the top. Many of the author’s claims are based on dubious assumptions and personal interpretations rather than factual evidence. I would recommend reading Susan Bordo’s recuperation of Boleyn instead.

[Alicia Centeno · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent read. This gave a new perspective on Anne’s story, told with a unique voice. It delves into historical events and documents that I have not previously heard of, and it really lends that human element to her story, situating her as a real person amongst an intense cast of characters. I enjoyed how the author acted this on the audio book edition, as it really enveloped me into what she was saying. I recommend!

[megan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great listen. Author has a good voice, keeps listener engaged and does justice for Anne. Glad someone is trying to get some truth out there. Definitely worth the listen

[Heather Stewart · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I work in heritage myself and I feel this book has been a long time coming. It has done much to unravel the inherant sexism that exsists within the interpretation of history. This should be a documentary.

[Whitney Breann Fuss · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really tried to like this book- but I agree with the reviews. I felt like I was listening to a teenager writing about her best friend who had been scorned by the hot football player, and she needed to ensure all the cheerleaders knew. It was so immature and the way she read it was too much. I love a twist on history, and I appreciate her enthusiasm- but she approaches it as if she has some radical view about feminism in the Tudor world- no one has even seen Anne in this light, and although I think Anne is a complicated person whose truth lies in the middle of all of it- her statements of facts is so outlandish at times. Were you there? Did you know she stayed away from the influences of the French court? Did she write you about it?
It's just.. it was too much. I would look elsewhere.

[Kasamira · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I listened with increasing confusion and then frustration. I am incredibly disappointed. There’s an unbelievable level of backstroking by Nolan.

Nolan says her book is “new research and revolutionary expose on the truth”— seemingly under the impression this is explosive research, a biting tableau. It is not. It’s milque toast as it gets

The use of explicit straw men in the Introduction made me leery, but I could understand trying to hook readers in. Except, the same tone and hyperbole continued

The author presents this as the “Definitive Expose on Anne Boleyn: The Truth” (her words)

“Then being the devious mastermind that she is, anne plays a blinder. Telling the king she won’t be his mistress. if he wants her, he’ll have to divorces his wife and marry her. For what?”

“For mindless power and selfish gain, Tudor villains don’t need any more motive than that.”

Then proceeds to poke flaws in the straw man she created and rip it apart. Which. Yeah. Because it’s a ridiculous argument that, to my knowledge, has never been in common use, and certainly not been accepted in several decades.

This author writes like she’s debunking this dastardly ploy which we’ve all believed for the past 500 years. Like Anne not being a literal six fingered witch is (as she puts it) “new research”.

It is not.

This book came out in 2019, but (perhaps to be a bit uncharitable) reads like it’s 2010 diss track on The Other Boleyn Girl.

Nolan talks about historical fiction being *censorship* of Anne. It is not. I do not know how to say it other than— historical fiction is not censorship. Censorship is suppressing information

It became increasingly condescending and snide (as is this review as my frustration mounts looking over my notes). As Nolan imitates what she imagines historians would say (an old stuffy man guffawing and speaking condescendingly about) how academia is going to dismiss her book immediately, and that her book is “revolutionary.” And that if you don’t buy into the mass media conceptualization of her then you’ll enjoy her book. It was the most transparent attempt at reader manipulation I’ve seen in a good while.

Nolan states in the intro “our bullshit meter is at capacity.” After 11 hours, of this self described “expose on the truth” indeed it is.

Would not recommend. If I had bought the book I’d want to return it. There’s a lovely historian on YouTube who makes videos on the Tudor time period that are approachable, informed, and a sight better than this book— Reading the Past

[Tristan Smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely fascinating to learn more about this woman who has been villainized for centuries. The attention to details and thorough look at Anne’s history by the author had me absolutely glued!

[Linda O'Brien · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I actually wanted to hear the facts about Anne Boleyn instead the author writes like she is on a tweeter rank -she even keeps using # tags. I wanted to score this book lower but maybe it supposed to be for millennia readers which ages me out.

[Shawna Gay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent research and the author/narrator presented it in a very entertaining manner.

[Destiny Slay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely amazing!!! Full of information that I have never seen presented before and depicting a very different Ann Boleyn to the one history has given us. A must read for history fans

[tinchenbel2601 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm leaving this review with the caveat that I listened to the Audiobook version for less than 10 minutes. It felt like I was listening to the British version of TMZ or some paparazzi, gossip publication being read out loud. It was pretty much unbearable. If I find a hard copy of this I will read it to see if it's the narrator or the writing that makes this such a tough one to listen to.

[Caroline Wilson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting take on the events surrounding the rise and spectacular fall of Anne Boleyn. I appreciated the additional research and consideration to the psychological elements at play in this drama . Unfortunately, the combination of the #resist, #theman rhetoric and the author’s performance of the book was a bit over the top. As a historian myself, I’ve been trained to look at the various perspectives surrounding historical events. I do 100% agree that Anne Boleyn has been horribly portrayed through the years and quite possibly the most maligned victim of the Tudor propaganda machine. While the author promised a balanced view of Anne, I still thought there was a bit too much emphasis on Anne the Saint who was unfairly murdered. I think Anne was a bit more fallable as a human being and that is OK. No one is perfect.

I’m not sure if I buy the argument that Henry VIII was a sociopath. A narcissist? Definitely. Borderline personality disorder? Possibly. I do place a lot validity to some of the recent research regarding Henry sustaining TBIs as result of jousting. I think he probably suffered more than one and with each succeeding injury, his erratic behavior grew worse.

Overall, I appreciated the subversive tone and the desire to rectify years of misinformation and slander. I just think it could have been more impactful if the author had taken herself a bit more seriously.

[Hessah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A different view of Anne Boleyn life : before and during her tenure as the Queen of England and Henry VIII second wife. With many Tudor TV shows depicting her as a scheming villain, it is an eye opening to know of her nonchalant pursuit of social reforms.

[grandmacootie · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Disappointing. I was expecting something rich in history and substance, but this sounded like someone defending their BFF from the Mean Girls. The writing is poor and this reads more like an opinion piece than the truth finally revealed based on “four years of rigorous and exhaustive research.”