Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Independently Published
Pub date: 15 August 2012
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Anne is a young, twenty-first-century woman in the midst of a life- long love affair with the sixteenth-century and the enigmatic Anne Boleyn. Whilst indulging her secret passion on an exclusive ‘Anne Boleyn Connoisseurs’ Weekend’, she is taken seriously ill at Hever Castle. Falling into a deep state of unconsciousness, Anne becomes ensnared in a time portal that transports her back in time to England, 1527. She awakens to find herself in the body of her heroine, Anne Boleyn; at the time, a young woman on the brink of an historic love affair with the mighty King Henry VIII. Anne finds herself at the centre of Henry’s world, yet increasingly vulnerable as the figurehead of the emerging and evermore powerful Boleyn faction. Whilst she learns what it is to walk in the footsteps of the woman who would change English history, she is also engulfed in mixed emotions and only too aware of how her relationship with Henry mirrors that of her twenty-first-century relationship with Dan, her married lover. Soon Anne begins to lose her own sense of identity as the boundaries between the two women begin to blur. As she is sucked back and forth between her two great loves and two increasingly fragile lives, Anne struggles to change her heroine’s terrible fate on the scaffold whilst trying to prevent her own modern-day life hurtling inextricably toward disaster. ‘Le Temps Viendra: A Novel of Anne Boleyn’ is a timeless story of passion, ambition and betrayal; it is also an enduring story of an intense love forged between two souls who are bound together for all eternity.

As a fan of all things Tudor I will happily read many books about the people, places and events but I have never read one like this!

This story is told from the viewpoint of twenty-first-century Anne who feels a deep connection with Anne Boleyn. On falling sick on a visit to Hever Castle Anne wakes up still in Hever but in the body of Anne Boleyn.

Anne has to adapt to court life, being the centre of attention and of course Henry’s love.

From this perspective we get to experience the comparison of twenty-first-century Hever, the changes made and Hever during the time of Anne Boleyn. I think that is what made this book so enjoyable for me especially the references to items such as Anne’s Book of Hours which is currently at Hever and something I very much would like to see and the moment Anne writes her famous words in the book ‘Le temps viendra, Je Anne Boleyn’.

This was refreshingly different in that although it’s told from twenty-first-century Anne we start to see Tudor Anne coming through and her feelings and personality guiding twenty-first-century Anne. Twenty-first-century Anne can’t help but fall in love with her new surroundings and situation even though she is well aware of the outcome for Anne Boleyn. Can she remain until the end? Well you will just have to read it to find out!

It’s a great read full of beautiful descriptives of the palaces, clothing and jewels which always fascinate me.

Being able to read direct comparisons of London and palaces, some that no longer exist was particularly engaging.

I also really like the cover of this book, I feel like it represents twenty-first-century Anne emerging from the shadow into Anne Boleyn as they await their time.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this volume and I will be reading the second volume.

Le Temps Viendra, Volume 1 is available here

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