History Press Book Review: Heirs of Ambition by Claire Martin*

[Ad-gifted] In my youth history didn’t really mean much to me. I always enjoyed visiting art galleries, museums and seeing historical buildings but stories of the past were never my thing, however, now I can’t get enough of tales from times gone by.

When I watch an historical TV program, I imagine how they dressed the struggles they might have had or how they might have lived if they were Royals or part of the wealthy elites! I am a regular reader of Royals on Wikipedia and with my curiosity , what better way to fill up my time and increase my knowledge on the past, than reading one of the latest titles from The History Press – and learn about how the Boleyns made a sideways step into British Royal Aristocracy.

The book Heirs of Ambition by Claire Martin gives you a taste of how in the 1300s times changed and meant that the idea of the Middle Classes arrived (although wasn’t referred to as this until years later) and gave new opportunity to people who weren’t born into Nobility.

If you want to find out about the fascinating family of the Boleyns then keep reading to see what I thought…

Want I thought of Heirs of Ambition

You learn of the slow acquisition of land by the Boleyns from the mid 1300s and how this grew their ownership of big portions of countryside, making them some of the largest land owners of the time. This gives the Boleyns standing in with the Nobel counterparts and starts making their family seem considerably more important than they were before.

Martin explores how changes to the way in which people became wealthy, in turn, changed many families social standing. They no longer needed to be born into Nobility, they gained wealth through the purchase of land becoming the land lords and moving from their roles as employees on the land to employers.

The book travels through the lives of the Boleyns before (the second) Anne Boleyn and her marriage to Henry VII. It’s interesting to learn about how they grew through society. They came from labourers on the land to land owners and then carried on to increase their wealth and status through the centuries.

The book is filled with lengthy detail, telling you about the battles that took place during the lives of each of the Boleyn members – during the late 1300s was a time when some of the most significant changes occurred in Britain and you learn how each one impacted the Boleyn family, not always for the best

I think I wanted to read more about the fluff around the Boleyn family, who they met, where they lived, more gossip – almost in the realms of a saga style historical book – instead, Heirs of Ambition is gritty and in-depth and I don’t suppose there is much factual or recorded information around gossip! But it’s certain that there is information recorded about the business workings, the land they owned sold and bought and fines they may have accrued over the years of their lives in Britain and Martin delivers so much knowledge and research you can get such a full picture of the true accounts of their lives, however, there are the odd suspicion of a few legends thrown in such as names that the newly wealthy often changed to make themselves appear more Nobel/aristocratic.

It is an easy to follow document of the lives of the Boleyns, that travels over 200 years of the family and comes to an end with the birth of Anne who would be the Boleyn heir who would fulfil all the dreams and aspirations of her first recorded ancestor Thomas Boleyn.

Where can you get your copy of Heirs to Ambition and how much is it?

You can buy the book through the links on The History Press website or on Amazon.  The book price ranges from £13.70 to £20 (please check with the various sellers to see the most up-to-date prices available).

About the book

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The History Press (28 Sept. 2023)
Format : Hardcover
Number of pages ‏ : ‎ 256
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0750999984

About the Author

Being an expert in the history of late-medieval England Dr Claire Martin’s choice of first book to write is perfectly apt. Having studied at St Peter’s College, Oxford where she BA in History and then going on to complete an MA in Medieval Studies at the Royal Holloway, University of London her skills went on to lead her into her role as lecturer and historical researcher giving her the time to gather the content for her much awaited book, Heirs of Ambition.

Review by: Lex Ward

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