Albert Campbell District Blog

For
our May 2 snapshots in history, let us remember Anne Boleyn, Catherine the
Great, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Anne
Boleyn (circa 1501 – May 19, 1536) was the second wife of King Henry VIII
of England and the mother of Queen Elizabeth l of England. Much has been
written about Anne Boleyn and the Boleyn family, both non-fiction and fiction.
On May 2, 1536, after having failed to provide a male heir to Henry VIII, she
was arrested on charges of adultery, incest, treason, and witchcraft and
executed by beheading after having been found guilty on questionable grounds.
Consider the following titles for borrowing from Toronto Public Library
collections:

The
creation of Anne Boleyn: a new look at England's most notorious queen /
Susan Bordo, 2013. Book. Non-Fiction.

Humanities academic Bordo attempted to correct what
she regarded as a historically, unfair portrayal of Anne Boleyn. The author
presented Boleyn as someone ahead of her time in feminist guise but drew
criticism from some reviewers for judging contemporary historians by today’s standards
rather than within their time context. Bordo analyzed fictionalized works about
Anne Boleyn and took exception in some instances to historically inaccurate
accounts. 

At
the mercy of the queen: a novel of Anne Boleyn [1st ed.] / Anne Clinard Barnhill, 2012. Book. Fiction.

If you like Tudor fiction, then consider this debut
novel in which the reader follows 15-year old Lady Margaret “Madge” Shelton,
cousin of Anne Boleyn, as a lady-in-waiting and member of court. Following
miscarriages and failing to give Henry VIII a son, Anne Boleyn lines up Lady
Margaret as a mistress for Henry to offset the allure of Jane Seymour. However,
Lady Margaret has secretly married the illegitimate son of the Duke of Suffolk
and is conflicted over betraying her husband in order to protect her cousin
Anne’s position as Queen of England. 

The
queen’s promise / Lyn Andrews, 2012. Book. Fiction.

This time, the reader finds that Anne Boleyn has
captivated Henry Percy, the future Earl of Northumberland, who proposes
marriage. Anne agrees but she has caught the eye of King Henry VIII who wishes
to make Anne his queen and produce a male heir. Henry Percy’s feelings for Anne
have not diminished and a lifetime of duty and service is not necessarily a
suitable replacement. 

The
Boleyns: the rise & fall of a Tudor family / D.M. Loades, 2011. Book.
Non-Fiction.

Tudor historian David Loades examined the Boleyn
family and its infamous members. Sir Edward Boleyn had served as London’s Lord
Mayor. His grandson, Sir Thomas Boleyn, inherited the title with wealth and
bore three children: Anne (who married Henry VIII, bore a daughter Elizabeth
who became Queen Elizabeth I); Mary (who also appeared in the royal court,
married William Carey and had a son named Henry Carey who became Lord Hunsdon);
and, brother George Boleyn (Lord Rochfort, who had no children). 

Catherine II, Empress of Russia, or Yekaterina
Alexeevna, was best known as Catherine the Great
(May 2, 1729 to November 17, 1796). Born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on May
2, 1729 as Sophie Friederike Auguste
von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, the longest-serving female leader in Russia began
her reign on July 9, 1762 in the aftermath of a coup d'état and the
assassination of her husband, Peter III. During her rule, Russia’s territorial
reach expanded, including to Alaska in North America. She continued
administrative reform and modernization in a manner akin to that of Peter the
Great. Consider the following titles for borrowing from Toronto Public Library
collections:

The
Winter Palace [a novel of Catherine the Great] / Eva Stachniak, 2011. Book.
Fiction.

If you like historical fiction, then join the scene
in the Imperial Russian court in this novel by Canadian author Stachniak where
you meet Barbara, a servant who will become a spy, and Sophia, a Germany
duchess destined to become Catherine the Great, who both must navigate changing
allegiances.

Also available in Large
Print, Audiobook
CD, and Talking
Book (Restricted to PRINT DISABLED patrons) formats. 

Catherine
the Great: portrait of a woman [1st ed.]
/ Robert K. Massie, 2011. Book. Non-Fiction.

Massie's
biography will appeal to readers interested in learning about Catherine II,
Empress of Russia, who was born Sophie Friederike August's von Anhalt-Zerbst, a
young Germany princess. Follow Catherine life through her marriage to Peter
III, her coming to power in 1762 and ruling until 1796, her support of the
Enlightenment and its ideas as a means of modernizing Russia, and her following
of world events such as the American Revolution. Massie also delves into
Catherine's personal friendships and love affairs.

Also
available in Large
Print, eBook,
and eAudiobook
formats. 

Leonardo da Vinci
(April 15, 1452 to May 2, 1519 – Old Style or Julian Calendar) has been dubbed
an Italian
Renaissance polymath
(or alternatively, a Renaissance man) with extraordinary facility in a wide
variety of areas, viz.: painting, sculpting, architecture, music, mathematics,
engineering, anatomy, geology, cartography, botany, writing, and inventing. Naturally,
Leonardo is arguably one of the best painters of all time, well-known for the
Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Dying on May 2, 1519, there is some question
whether King Francis I of France, in fact, held Leonardo’s head in his arms as
he died.  Consider the following titles
for borrowing from Toronto Public Library collections:

Leonardo
and the last supper / Ross King, 2012. Book. Non-Fiction.

King set the context in
which Leonardo da Vinci was able to paint one of his best known works within
three years with the backdrop of war with and invasion by France's Charles XIII.
Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, commissioned the painting of The Last Supper.
The author analyzed Leonardo's painting techniques, and some characteristics of
the painting such as the placement of the apostles and their hands. King also
delved into Leonardo life, including his interactions with his patrons, some of
whom regarded him as unreliable.

Also available in eBook
format.  

Leonardo
/ Milena Magnano, 2012. Book. Non-Fiction.

Readers can still access and appreciate Leonardo's
existing works in this book but the author also wanted to show the different
sides of Leonardo da Vinci, namely: painter, architect, engineer,
naturalist, and scientist.

Stealing
Mona Lisa: a mystery / Carson Morton, 2011. Book. Fiction.

This debut novel built upon the true 1911 theft from
the Louvre of the Mona Lisa, one of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous works.

Also available in Large
Print format.