'If Any Person Will Meddle of My Cause'

The Judicial Murder of Anne Boleyn

Heather R. Darsie

$80.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Amberley Publishing
15 December 2025

History; European history; Early modern history: c 1450 to c 1700

Many people know about the dramatic rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s controversial second wife, but this is the first book to look at her life from a Continental perspective. Her role models for queenship came from the Low Countries and France, and this contributed to her tragic end. Heather R. Darsie reviews the political missteps and implications of Anne Boleyn’s queenship, delving into the threat she posed to Henry, and why legal changes made during the early years of the English Reformation allowed the English king to judicially murder his inconvenient queen.

Historically, certain things have been overlooked about Anne’s execution: she wore colours usually associated with martyrdom, announced that she did not come to preach, was killed by beheading instead of burning, and had a very crude burial in an unmarked grave. Anne tried to portray herself as a martyr, and Henry did everything he could to prevent her from reaching that status. If Any Person Will Meddle of My Cause is about Anne Boleyn, but not the Anne Boleyn you know.

By: Heather R. Darsie
Imprint: Amberley Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781398116023
ISBN 10: 1398116025
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 15 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Heather R. Darsie is an independent researcher in the US specializing in early modern history. She focuses on researching the Holy Roman Empire and England in the early 16th century. She is the author of 'Anna, Duchess of Cleves', 'Children of the House of Cleves' and 'Katharine of Aragon, Spanish Princess'. Her primary career is as an attorney. She runs the website MaidensAndManuscripts.com.

Reviews for 'If Any Person Will Meddle of My Cause': The Judicial Murder of Anne Boleyn

‘Remarkable: a significant, scholarly, and engaging reassessment. Anne Boleyn’s rise and puzzling fall are placed – by a master historian and detective – in the context of ecclesiastical, continental, and legal histories and conflicts.’ -- STEVEN VEERAPEN, author of Witches: A King’s Obsession and The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I ‘In a highly innovative approach, Heather Darsie sets Anne Boleyn and her fall into the religious and European political context of her age. Situating Anne firmly within some of the more radical religious circles of her day, Darsie presents a compelling case for why Anne was simply too dangerous to be left alive. A fresh, interesting and convincing account… you will never look at the fall of Anne Boleyn in the same way again.’ -- ELIZABETH NORTON, author of Women Who Ruled the World: 5000 Years of Female Monarchy and The Lives of Tudor Women