Hodder lands Borman’s ‘extraordinary’ story of Anne Boleyn and daughter Elizabeth

Hodder & Stoughton has landed TV presenter and historian Tracy Borman’s book Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I.

Non-fiction publisher Rupert Lancaster acquired world rights to the book, which “pieces together evidence from original documents and artefacts to tell the story of Anne Boleyn’s relationship with, and influence over, her daughter Elizabeth”, from Julian Alexander at the Soho Agency.

In the book, the publisher says, Borman will “throw dramatic new light on two of the most famous and controversial women in history and trace the legacy of their relationship all the way up to the modern-day monarchy.”

Hodder & Stoughton will publish on 19th May 2023, on the anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s execution in 1536.

Borman, whose TV credits include “Inside the Tower of London”, “Britain’s Easter Story” and “Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him”, said: “I have long been fascinated by these two remarkable women and queens, yet their stories have never been told together. We obsess endlessly about Anne’s relationship with Henry VIII and whether or not her daughter was really the Virgin Queen, but in so doing we have missed the most compelling story of all: that of a mother and daughter who changed the course of British history.”

Lancaster commented: “As joint curator of Historic Royal Palaces with an office at Hampton Court Palace, Tracy Borman lives and breathes this story on a daily basis. She has a matchless ability to combine innovative historical research with a natural gift as a storyteller.”

Borman is series consultant on a Nutopia television drama series about Anne Boleyn which premieres on 23rd November 2022 on Netflix. Her many previous books include Elizabeth’s Women (Jonathan Cape, 2009), which was Book of the Week on Radio 4, her debut novel The King’s Witch (Hodder, 2018) and Crown & Sceptre (Hodder, 2021).