After reading Sonia Purnell’s excellent biography of Nancy Astor. I couldn’t wait to read her next book A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Duchess Who Became the Last Empress of India. My expectations were high, and it didn’t take long to realize. That this was an even better book than the one before! At first, I was disappointed by all the time the author spent describing family trees and diplomatic intrigues in France. But it ended up being an important part of the overall story.
Overview About “A Woman of No Importance” by “Sonia Purnell”
Elegant and gripping, A Woman of No Importance is a portrait not only of Mary Boleyn—mistress to King Henry VIII, tragic sister to Anne—but also her age. Brilliantly researched and vividly rendered, it is biography at its best: fine-grained, intimate, deeply human. Much has been written about Anne Boleyn’s life and death, but until now her younger sister has received scant attention. Well known as Henry VIII’s mistress for eight years before she was sent home from France to become queen consort of England (1533–36). Mary was nevertheless sidelined after Anne’s execution for high treason in 1536; even when Henry married his fourth wife Catherine Howard seven months later, there was no place for Mary.
Reviews About “A Woman of No Importance” by “Sonia Purnell”
When Queen Victoria calls herself unfit to live with, it’s a sure sign that something is wrong with England. While many will argue that she actually lived through some pretty eventful times, others maintain that her reign was a period of lethargy and conservatism. In A Woman of No Importance, biographer Sonia Purnell examines how a queen who ruled an empire did so without participating in it. And how she may have been instrumental in its decline. Not every chapter has as much vitality as another. But each offers an interesting glimpse into English politics at that time.
About “Sonia Purnell” the author of “A Woman of No Importance”
She was born on 20 September 1959 in Hillingdon, Middlesex. She is a British historian, biographer, and journalist, who specializes in 20th-century political history. Educated at St Paul’s Girls’ School, London, and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford (MA). She worked as a journalist on The Times and then The Sunday Times. Sonia has written two biographies – ‘Clementine Churchill: Wife, Soldier and Politician’ (2002) and ‘Truman’ (2007). She is married to Toby Rogers, son of Sir Stuart Rogers, former chairman of Sotheby’s Holdings.
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