Join the Hudson Library & Historical Society on Saturday, January 20 at 1 p.m. for a virtual author event with historians John Guy and Julia Fox, who will discuss their new book, Hunting the Falcon. Hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “A fierce, scholarly tour-de-force,” Hunting the Falcon is a groundbreaking examination of one of the most dramatic and consequential marriages in history: Henry VIII’s long courtship, short union, and brutal execution of Anne Boleyn.

Hunting the Falcon is the story of how Henry VIII’s obsessive desire for Anne Boleyn changed him and his country forever. By closely examining the most recent archival discoveries and peeling back layers of historical myth and misinterpretation and distortion, Anne and Henry’s tragic relationship is set against the major international events of the time and integrate and reinterpret sources hidden in plain sight or simply misunderstood. Among other things, the authors dispel lingering and latently misogynistic assumptions about Anne which anachronistically presumed that a sixteenth-century woman, even a queen, could exert little to no influence on the politics and beliefs of a patriarchal society. They reveal how, in fact, Anne was a shrewd, if ruthless, politician in her own right, a woman who steered Henry and his policies, often against the advice he received from his male advisers—and whom Henry seriously contemplated making joint sovereign. An exhilarating feat of historical research and analysis, Hunting the Falcon is also a thrilling and tragic story of a marriage that has proved of enduring fascination over the centuries.

Formerly provost and history professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, Renaissance historian John Guy is now a fellow in history at Clare College, University of Cambridge. He has written several books, including a best-selling textbook, Tudor England, and consults for the BBC. Julia Fox is a teacher and author. She taught history for many years in London, having obtained her degree from the University of London. She is the author of Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford and Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile. 

Registration for this program is required and a valid email address is required at the time of registration. Participants will receive an email invitation a day before the program.

If you have any questions, please email askus@hudson.lib.oh.us or call (330) 653-6658 x1010.