Does anne boleyn's representation in the tudors and wolf hall betray the historical figure ?

3.2 Wolf Hall's Claire Foy

3.2.1 Claire Foy's resume

Claire Foy is a British actress born in 1984 in Stockport and studied drama at Liverpool John Moores University but also took classes at Oxford School of Drama and graduated in 2007. Before landing the role of Anne Boleyn in Kosminsky's television series, Foy played in several British series and films such as The Promise (2011) or the miniseries based on Charles Dickens' novel, Little Dorrit in 2014²¹⁰.

Claire Foy confessed that, since her youth, she suffers from anger issues, arguing that she feels anger from «not feeling like the person that you are is allowed to be out in the world²¹¹». Acting is for her a sort of therapy as it gives her the freedom to express herself²¹², it seems fair to argue that the role of Anne Boleyn must have been a perfect outlet for her to lash out as Anne is regularly seen being violent, speaking her mind without a care, etc...

Unfortunately, no information seems to have been given concerning her casting on the series, Peter Kosminsky only said that he has worked with her before the series on The Promise²¹³, but the fact that she agreed to play in an adaptation of Dickens' novel, to portray Anne in Wolf Hall and Elizabeth II in The Crown a year later, could mean that Claire Foy is interested in British history and historical projects.

210 «Claire Foy Biography.» OurBiography (blog), January 5, 2019. Accessed May 31, 2019 https://www.ourbiography.com/claire-foy/.

211 Ibid.

212 Ibid.

213 Wolf Hall Q&A with Hilary Mantel and Claire Foy | BFI. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CiVns3nIfU&t=465s.

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3.2.2 Claire's view on Anne Boleyn and Hilary Mantel's novel

Claire claimed that she has read Wolf Hall before she even got the script for the BBC adaptation and that Hilary Mantel's novels allowed her to forget about the legend that Anne Boleyn had six fingers and warts because she felt that she was discovering her and the other characters for the first time²¹⁴. Claire Foy seems to have chosen to base her portraying of Anne Boleyn on the novels only and to forget about the historical figure, the legends and myths usually associated with her. She she also expressed that she believes that an actor has a responsibility when portraying someone who «has lived and breathed²¹⁵». However, Foy's choice to base her acting only on Mantel's novels and not on the historical figure of Anne Boleyn herself can be seen as a complete denial of history as Hilary Mantel's depiction of the Tudor Queen is from her personal point of view, therefore, Anne Boleyn's portrayal in the series can be seen as unreliable as Foy apparently did not try to know more about the historical figure than what Mantel told in her books.

Claire argued that the fact that the entire plot of Wolf Hall is from Cromwell's point of view forced her to think a lot about her character and her feelings and to «fill in» for herself in order to portray Anne as good as possible²¹⁶. Indeed, it must have been quite hard for Claire as an actress to play a character with so little information about her. Somehow, as she could not rely on anything to help her become Anne Boleyn, we could argue that she had to do a screenwriter's job imagining what Anne felt during the scenes or why she would say that. She expressed this major obstacle in another interview when she argued that it «is difficult in a way because you sort of want to be able to show every single part of the character²¹⁷» and she is right; this choice of narration restricts Foy's freedom as an actress but it also does not allow us to fully understand Wolf Hall's Anne Boleyn.

214 Ibid.

215 Ibid.

216 Ibid.

217 Claire Foy Talks about Making of Wolf Hall - Anne Boleyn. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7Dl3hA- gE&t=73s.

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3.2.3 Claire Foy's Anne Boleyn

When we discover the promotional pictures of Wolf Hall we right away understand that it will not be the type of representation of Anne we were given in Showtime's The Tudors. Kosminsky's Anne Boleyn looks nothing like a sexy and promiscuous courtier dressed in sexy gowns. On one of the photograph taken of the actors, Claire Foy is photographed next to Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as Henry. Here we are introduced to an Anne Boleyn who does not wear a provocative gown or a nightgown but her coronation outfit with the crown on her head.

Promotional poster of Wolf hall depicting Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell and Anne Boleyn

The emphasis is not put on her sexuality but on her political role as Queen of England, especially as she is depicted near Thomas Cromwell, the Chief Minister of Henry and the King and not in an inferior position as Natalie Dormer is on the pictures taken to promote The Tudors. However, once more, the way Claire Foy stares at the audience is extremely relevant of the personality of Anne in Wolf Hall; cruel, short-tempered and manipulative, some might think that she defiantly stares at us. This choice of staging on the poster could be associated with Mantel's depiction of Anne Boleyn in her novels, but also to the common view of Anne (mostly based on

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Chapuys' letters) which portray her as a «lion» and a vindictive «bitch» responsible for the Reformation. The depiction of Anne on this picture but also on the ones for The Tudors imply that artists seem to be unable to let go of the popular opinion of the Tudor Queen. She is nearly always sexy and cruel or selfishly ambitious.

Though Claire Foy's Anne Boleyn is not as sexualized as Dormer's in The Tudors, a scene from Anne Regina, the third episode of Wolf Hall, may be linked with Laura Mulvey's theory. In this scene, Anne is standing by a window, looking at Henry VIII and Thomas More talking about the latter's resignation from the Government, when Cromwell arrives and stands next to her. Soon, his gaze focuses on Anne's impressive cleavage before he starts to caress her neck and breasts. This shot is the perfect embodiment of Mulvey's theory as we are given a close up one Foy's cleavage while the camera follows Rylance's fingers.

Thomas Cromwell's dream about Anne Boleyn in S1E3

Anne does not seem to pay attention and quite abruptly the next shot shows Cromwell standing at the same place he was before starting to touch her²¹⁸. The audience then realizes that the previous shot was nothing more than the visual representation of Thomas Cromwell's fantasy about Anne. That quick scene is the perfect embodiment of Laura Mulvey's argument that the male gaze is depicted with «slow motion, deliberate camera movements and cut aways»²¹⁹. Indeed the camera

218 Claire Foy - Queen Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell - Wolf Hall Ep 3. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZPQX6H-ZtU.

219 «READ: ESSAY: `Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' by Laura Mulvey.» WOMEN AND FILM. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.womenandfilm.net/home/2018/4/13/read-visual-pleasure-and-narrative-cinema-by-laura-mulvey.

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focuses at first at the actress' face before going down on her neck, then her breast, following Cromwell's fingers. In other words, as it was the case in many scenes from The Tudors when the audience saw Anne through Henry's perspective, this extract from Wolf Hall puts the audience in Thomas'. This fantasy scene echoes with Anne Boleyn's famous reputation to be a lustful temptress and a promiscuous woman as she is portrayed at this moment as being nothing more than a sexual object fantasized and desired by the main character. Yet, Thomas' reverie (and perhaps the viewer's as well) is abruptly interrupted as Anne starts talking about her delight to see More resignation and decides to join them to enjoy her victory with an obvious sadism.

Anne Boleyn, an ambiguous character

Anne Boleyn's first scene in S1E1

Anne Boleyn's temper is introduced in her very first scene of the series, when she meets Thomas Cromwell for the first time when he comes to give her documents about Wolsey's palace she inherited after his disgrace. Right away she is introduced as an enemy to the main character she insults by mispronouncing his name²²⁰, probably to belittle the man who defends Thomas Wolsey.

220 Anne Boleyn Meets Thomas Cromwell - «Wolf Hall» - Claire Foy. Accessed May 31, 2019.

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Moreover, she does not hesitate to interrupt Cromwell when he tries to justify Wolsey's failure to convince the Pope to grant the King his divorce.

Yet, the staging of this introduction scene tells us a lot about the character of Anne Boleyn; she is not Queen yet but she acts like one, she is surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting and even sits on a throne which elevates her above the ladies around her. Such a behavior induces to the viewers that she is arrogant and will surely be an obstacle for Thomas Cromwell, this theory is validated by Mary Boleyn when she tells him before he leaves the room that her sister «likes a good fight²²¹». The way the scene is filmed is also extremely relevant of how Kosminsky wanted us to see Anne.

The audience and Thomas' first glimpse of Anne Boleyn in S1E1

The scene starts with the camera following Cromwell's entrance in a close shot, in the gallery where Anne awaits him with her ladies. When Cromwell arrives, Anne's lapdog, Purkoy, comes towards him and the camera follows his movement to pick up the little dog after hearing Anne ordering «Purkoy! Don't let him out²²²». Then, it also follows him when he looks in front of him and see Anne standing up and staring at him. This manner of filming this introduction sequence is striking as Anne Boleyn seems to appear out of nowhere, giving the audience the feeling that she

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyGMYn-rE9g&t=174s.

221 Ibid.

222 Anne Boleyn Meets Thomas Cromwell - «Wolf Hall» - Claire Foy. Accessed June 17, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyGMYn-rE9g&t=42s.

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is dangerous and elusive. For the next shot, the camera is placed right behind Cromwell's shoulder and follows his steps towards Anne. This filming technique makes the audience discover Anne Boleyn's face at the same time as Thomas does and increases our apprehension to discover a character mentioned several times in negative terms, someone apparently dangerous for the main character.

Cromwell and Anne's mistrust is embodied by the shots of them talking at the beginning of the sequence. Indeed when the camera films the two characters we see them in a reverse angle as the screen captures show it below. This choice of view angle gives the viewers the feeling of some sort of a dual, which is the case as their conversation can be described as a battle of words; Anne mocks Cromwell's name and he mentions Wolsey knowing how she hates him.

Anne and Thomas' opposition in S1E1

The fact that there are no close-ups of Claire Foy's character could indicate a distance and that she is elusive and mysterious to Cromwell who just met her, but also to the audience as well.

Mary Boleyn's words about her sister in this episode embody perfectly Anne's character in the series. In several scenes she has fits of rage as it is implied in a deleted scene in which, out of anger, Anne broke objects when the King heard about her betrothal to Henry Percy²²³, and she even gets angry when she fails to shoot an arrow²²⁴.

223 Wolf Hall Deleted Scene 2. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0s08wOfdkY&t=3s.

224 Kosminsky Peter. Wolf Hall = Dans l'ombre Des Tudors. Issy-les-Moulineaux] [Suresnes: ARTE France développement Sony pictures home entertainment diffusion/distribution, 2016.

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Yet, two scenes are extremely relevant of her strong temperament. The first one is set at the end of the series when Anne is surrounded by Mark Smeaton, Henry Norris and William Brereton among others and Jane Parker. At the beginning of the scene Anne mocks Mark Smeaton, which led him to leave, crying. Out of spite after being mocked by Anne, her sister-in-law mentions the death of her lapdog, Purkoy and claims that Mark should «be dropped from a great height²²⁵» like her dog. After Jane reference to the mysterious death of her pet, Anne calmly walked towards her and slapped her so violently that Jane's cheek became entirely red. The sound effect of the slap seems to have been magnified. Presumably in order to suggest the violence of the action as the sound echoes in the room. Moreover, the close shot on Foy's face is more than relevant of her violence and anger.

Claire Foy's Anne Boleyn in S1E6

Yet, Anne does not stop there and asks Henry Percy to kill Jane for her insults and keeps making fun of everyone around her, even claiming that Henry is in love with her and even mentions the King's death. This scene is particularly interesting for Anne Boleyn's character as it depicts how cruel she can be, even with her friends and family and that she enjoys humiliating people for her own amusement.

225 Claire Foy - Anne Boleyn - S1E6. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RefxH2pguiI.

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Yet, it was not the first time that Anne was physically violent. Earlier in the series, when Anne and the King are at Calais, Cromwell noticed that Anne was flirting with a courtier which angered the King who kept looking at her. Anne's uncle came and forced her to dance with him to calm Henry, but, at the end of the dance, Anne tried to hit her own uncle in front of everyone²²⁶. Later on, when Cromwell plays chess with one of Jane Seymour's brothers, Anne is heard arguing with the King about what happened during the dance. As we are put in Cromwell's shoes we do not understand clearly what is being said next door, but Anne dares to talk back to the King and to yell at him²²⁷.

These several examples depict a woman who looks like the one described by Eustace Chapuys in his letters to the emperor and whom he compared to a lion and who seems to have no compassion, no feelings at all. However, other excerpts from Wolf Hall counterbalance a bit this depiction of a cold and violent Queen.

Through her relationship with her daughter and her dog, another aspect of Anne's personality is revealed to us. Indeed, the Queen is shown several times taking care of Elizabeth she obviously loves when, for example, she looks with anxiety at the wet nurse taking away her crying baby or proudly showing to her husband a cloth she made for their child²²⁸. The emphasis is also put on her fight to have Elizabeth's future assured and her legitimacy recognized when she and the King reads the Act of Succession. To protect her daughter and her right to inherit the Throne, she does everything to belittle Mary Tudor, asking Cromwell why Mary is not referred to as a bastard or to send her to serve Elizabeth at Hatfield²²⁹. Depicting Anne's motherhood and her dedication to her daughter could be seen as a way to make her a little more sympathetic to the audience, to make her look more human. The same technique is used when her dog, Purkoy is mentioned. Anne Boleyn's first scene shows her love for her pet as she is afraid he would escape²³⁰, moreover, when he dies

226 BBC. «She's Done Enough Diplomacy» - Wolf Hall: Episode 3 Preview - BBC Two. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3811GYlfr0A.

227 Kosminsky Peter. Wolf Hall = Dans l'ombre Des Tudors. op. Cit

228 Claire Foy - Anne Boleyn - S1E4 - Wolf Hall. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=8E8xlLyAtnI&t=167s.

229 Ibid

230 Anne Boleyn Meets Thomas Cromwell - «Wolf Hall» - Claire Foy. op. Cit.

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(or is murdered) Foy's character is extremely saddened. It is also the reference to his death which made her hit Jane Parker, a hint that Anne truly cared for her dog and is not unable to have feelings.

Yet, there is only one scene in which she is not wearing a mask and is completely vulnerable. Surprisingly, Cromwell does not appear in this extract which indicates that the aim was to allow us to have a glimpse of who Anne really is behind closed doors when she is not in public. The camera follows Jane Seymour and Jane Parker who discover blood on the floor and then Anne with her dress stained with blood, indicating that she is miscarrying. When the camera finally shows Anne, we get two shots of her. The first one shows her from afar, hiding in a corner. Then we get a close shot on her face. The look on Claire Foy's face depicts perfectly how shocked her character is, her breath is jerky and she is shaking, obviously she is both in pain and frightened as every women would be in such circumstances²³¹. It is the very first time we see Anne as a vulnerable woman who shows her true feeling and not as an arrogant and cold Queen.

Anne Boleyn's miscarriage in S1E4

231 Claire Foy - Anne Boleyn - S1E4 - Wolf Hall. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=e068W75TB5g&t=47s.

Anne Boleyn, the martyr

These scenes and their focus on Anne as a woman and not as vindictive schemer are just the premise of a late redemption for the character who is about to fall as quickly as she rose. Anne's vulnerability and especially her innocence are depicted through Cromwell himself and his personal feelings as the investigation on Anne's alleged affairs starts. Indeed, the relationship between Anne and Cromwell is the most complex one depicted in the BBC TV series, the two of them are both intelligent, calculating and it appears that they admire each other while they remain suspicious of one another, moreover Cromwell also seems to be physically attracted to Anne. Yet, he is the one in charge of the investigation on Anne and her alleged lovers and it has been made obvious that he is not comfortable with his duty. One scene embodies perfectly Cromwell's mix feelings towards his mission which put an end to Anne's queenship and later on, her life. It is the one which opens the sixth and last episode of Wolf Hall. Before the episode starts, we are given the context;

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The episode then opens on a feast hosted by Thomas, yet, while all his guests talk merrily, Cromwell's face is grim, obviously Mark Rylance's character is not at ease and the idea of Anne's downfall does not please him. To make his feelings crystal clear for the viewers, the screenwriters added a dramatic appearance of Anne on the table among the different meals and courses brought by the servants on Cromwell's orders. Anne's motionless body slowly moves on the table towards Thomas, the fact that no guest reacts we understand that we are put in Cromwell's mind and that his

guilt literally appears on the screen²³².

This sequence predicts Anne's near death which occurs at the end of the episode but it also, like in The Tudors, makes a victim out of her (a status stressed by the details given at the beginning of the episode that Henry wants Cromwell to find a way to get rid of Anne but not because she committed a crime or treason, just because he has fallen out of love with her). The fact that Anne is laying on the table where several courtiers are eating their dinner gives us a feeling that they are about to feed on her, like wolves would devour their prey (the figure of the wolf is present in the very title of the series and Mantel's novel) or that she is the victim of a human sacrifice. This feeling is enhanced by the behavior of Cromwell's guests who ask for the servants to bring dinner on the table by hitting the table with their fists.

Yet, the end of this introduction of the last episode is the most striking moment of the scene. Anne is laying still on the table and looks at Cromwell who stands up with a long knife in his hands and stabs the Queen, indicating that he feels to be the one who will kill, sacrifice the Queen. The position of the camera puts us in Cromwell's shoes as it is a point of view angle. The effect of this choice is immediate on us because of the close-up on Anne's face; we feel the same way as Thomas does, it is as if we were the one about to execute her.

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232 Claire Foy - Anne Boleyn and Cromwell - Wolf Hall EP 6. Accessed May 31, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4YDYe8zHZY.

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Thomas Cromwell's dream of killing Anne Boleyn

Cromwell's guilt and feelings concerning Anne Boleyn's downfall are a main part of the episode and they are even more stressed during the execution scene as cross-cutting scenes show Rylance's character checking the scaffold before the execution. When Anne arrives with her ladies, as the cross-cutting sequences explain, he remembers his conversation with the French swordsman concerning the manner he will cut Anne Boleyn's head. These sequences do not just tell Rylance's character how the Queen will be executed but also explain the process to the audience as well. Cromwell appears to be extremely emotionally involved in Anne's beheading and seems to agree with the swordsman's plan to ease Anne's death by not wearing the typical clothes executioners usually wear, and to pretend not to have the sword with him so she can think she has a few more minutes to live. When Anne arrives on the scaffold and makes her last speech, a close shot shows Cromwell grabbing the arm of one of the men who works for him as if he needed physical support to witness the execution he helped to plan²³³.

Yet, though this portrayal of Cromwell in this final episode might be a manner to make him

appear caring and not as cruel as he is thought to be, it also enhances Anne's status of victim of the wickedness of the English court. But, it also increases the sympathy the viewers may have for her.

233 Kosminsky Peter. Wolf Hall = Dans l'ombre Des Tudors. op. Cit

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This feeling we might have for the Queen is also due to the reactions of those who were at her trial when she was found guilty and sentenced to be either burnt within the Tower of beheaded at the King's pleasure. Indeed, when the Duke of Norfolk declared Anne guilty of the charges many shouted, obviously shocked by the sentence («That's not justice²³⁴») pronounced by Anne Boleyn's own uncle. The way the Boleyn family reacted to Anne and George's arrest and condemnation can also be seen as a manner to put us, the viewers, on Anne's side as she is abandoned by her own father, uncle and aunt who used her to get more wealth, lands and titles when she was the King's mistress. Indeed, for us, twenty-first century audience, it seems extremely cruel that the Duke of Norfolk was the one to condemn Anne or that her father «looks after himself first and last²³⁵».

Though BBC's Wolf Hall did not choose to make out of Anne's execution a pathos scene by using slow motion or sweet music, this version of the Queen's beheading entirely promotes her innocence and martyrdom. When she arrives in the Tower courtyard she gives a few coins to the people who came to attend the execution²³⁶. This moment of the scene presents Anne as a woman who helped the people and was involved in charities, and the fact that it is shown just before she dies makes her execution even more outrageous for the audience. Kosminsky's adaptation of Mantel's novel did not show on screen the moment the executioner cut her head but it did not really spare the audience the gory and visual details of the beheading or what happened next. It is the very first time that the aftermath of Anne's execution is shown on a screen, right after her death, her ladies come on the scaffold and refuse to let men carry her body («We don't want men to handle her²³⁷»). They put Anne's corpse and severed head in a wooden box (no funeral or proper coffin were prepared as she died as a traitor, she was buried in a what used to be an elm chest²³⁸) and we are shown the entire process. We see one of her ladies picking up her head on the scaffold with a white sheet while others put her body in the makeshift coffin with difficulty. After Anne is put in the box they look at their hands, stained with the Queen's blood.

234 Ibid.

235 Ibid.

236 Ibid.

237 Ibid.

238 «The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn: `The Most Happy'», op. Cit. p. 359

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This extract is quite relevant of Anne's unjustified execution, the moment when the women in charge of Anne stare with horror at their bloody hands embodies perfectly the expression «to have blood on one's hand» but it might also be seen as a reference to those who are responsible for her downfall.

The way the sequence is filmed is extremely simple, unlike The Tudors there are no dissolve or slow motion to tell us how to feel about the event depicted onscreen. As we can see on the pictures below, at the beginning the camera is placed in the middle of the crowd, we see Anne from afar as if we were among the people. Then, we get several close shots, allowing us to see her face and, therefore, her fear. The striking aspect of this scene is that there are close-ups of the morbid details of the execution; the executioner's face when he strikes, the lady-in-waiting who picks up Anne's bloody head, the blood on the ladies' hands and dresses, the moment when her body is placed in the chest and when they close it. This technical choice must have been made so that we witness the gory details that are usually not depicted onscreen in The Tudors for instance. Using close shots and close-ups to show the audience the macabre aspects of the sequence is a simple technique but it can be considered to be more effective than slow motion for instance as we almost see the scene how it really happened in 1536 for the crowd must have witnessed her body being placed on the elm chest and blood on the scaffold.

The sound effects also play a huge role in our reception of this sequence and in its realism. One of the most striking one is the sound we hear when Anne Boleyn's head is chopped off. Obviously, it has been magnified in order to emphasize the violence of the scene as we hear Anne's body falling on the scaffold. We also hear the crowd whispering, the wind blowing, and, therefore, we do not hear everything she says. These details increase even more our feeling to be in 1536, because the director thought of these elements and did not make the sequence more «comfortable» for us, even though it meant that we would not be able to hear her entire speech.

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Close-up on Anne's face on the scaffold and gory details

To put it in a nutshell, this episode of the series is not just an attempt to rehabilitate Thomas Cromwell and depict another side of his personality. Indeed, it can also be argued that, despite that Anne is mostly depicted as vicious and cruel, it might be seen as a way to claim her innocence and to explain that she may have been quick tempered, vindictive or a schemer, but she was innocent of the accusations of adultery, incest and high treason.

This analysis of the depiction of Anne Boleyn in both The Tudors and Wolf Hall highlighted an important element in her portrayal in fiction. Indeed, it appears that both television series seemed to have aimed at showing the audience that the woman despised by many people throughout the centuries may not be as evil as they might think and that she is more likely to have been innocent of all charges which led to her death on the scaffold. The two television series, especially The Tudors, may not have just changed the image of Anne Boleyn in popular culture, but it also may have had an impact on television series, on the interest of people for such programs, etc...

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Part IV: The reception of the two series:
A renewed interest in the Tudor dynasty

4.1 The Process of Reception

4.1.1 The «reputation» of television series

In his book Les Séries Télévisées, Fabien Favard mentioned that, a few years ago, television series had a «bad reputation». Indeed, before, this medium was considered to be less rich, less interested than movies. This opinion about series probably comes from the fact that the scripts were quite simple, the viewers were given all the answers and even if they missed an episode they could easily understand the next one.

One of the first programs which shattered this poor reputation is J.J Abrams' Lost (20042010) as the plot was not just about people trying to escape from an island, but also about their past, inner conflicts, several mysteries about the island and the reason why the plane crashed there. Though the series and its creator were highly criticized for the way they ended the show and the many questions that were not answered, no one can deny that Abrams did try to make a complex and innovative program. For instance, for several seasons, the characters' past were depicted through flashbacks scenes and each episode focused on one character. Yet, the viewers were surprised to discover at the end of one episode that the creators changed their strategy and decided to use flash forwards instead.

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And Lost was just one of the first series to be complicated, since then many others such as Westworld, were created using this technique to force the audience to focus and pay attention to every detail to be sure to understand the intrigue.

Today, possibly because the creators of television series changed their writing techniques and made the audience play an active part in their reception of programs, we notice a clear new interest for this medium of entertainment. Scholars write books about series and their characteristics, they also make conferences to talk about them and some even went as far as to make series a subject in class (for instance the English department at Rennes II university proposes a course about HBO's series, Westworld).

4.1.2 The advent of the internet: new means of reception

A few years ago there were only two ways to watch a series; we could wait for it to be broadcast on television or we could buy the DVDs and watch the seasons already available.

The advent of the internet has completely changed the way we watch television series. We now have many different possibilities; we can watch it on a streaming website (legally or illegally), on a platform such as OCS or Netflix and we can also download legally or not the episodes. This various medium had a huge impact on the reception of the audience and changed our consummation of series, they gave us the opportunity to watch more programs more easily. It also created the binge watching effect, in other words we can watch several episodes (or a season) in a very short period of time. Somehow our consummation increased greatly and we want the next episode or season as quickly as possible.

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4.1.3 The Role of Social media in the reception of the series

On the Tower of London gift shop website, in the section called «most views», the necklace is the third item which seems to interest the visitors of the website (it is followed by an Anne Boleyn porcelain doll)²³⁹. This interest for a Tudor jewel is far from being a surprise given the many cosplays made and posted online by Tudor history lovers. This necklace is now a symbol of Anne as she is always depicted wearing this piece of jewelry, whether in The Other Boleyn Girl or The Tudors. It is what allows us to recognize her right away. It is now a part of the «Anne Boleyn cult» and even appears to have inspired the creators of the American TV series, Ugly Betty, in which the main character who works in the fashion industry wears the same necklace, perhaps implying that Henry VIII's second wife was a sort of fashion icon. Moreover, we can find these replicas not only at the Tower, but also at Hampton Court Palace and Hever Castle, another indication that it is a very popular Tudor-related item.

Many women bought this jewel and post photos of themselves wearing it on Instagram. To understand why they bought and wear this necklace I asked the question to a young woman on Instagram. She explained that she considered Anne to be a historical heroine who «knew what she wanted and did everything to get what she wanted». She also argued that Anne was more of a twenty-first century woman and did not fit in her time, when women were considered to be men's properties and were only expected to marry and bear children. In other words, she seems to consider Anne Boleyn as a feminist figure she aspires to and admires, she seems to look up at the Tudor Queen, perhaps even look like her.

However, some women go even further in the costume. Many Instagram accounts are dedicated to the art of cosplays of fictional characters, such as Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones or Marvel characters. Other cosplayers decided to create a costume, sometimes from scratch, based on Natalie Dormer's in The Tudors or Natalie Portman's in The Other Boleyn Girl.

239 «Tower of London Official Gift Shop - Historic Royal Palaces.» Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.historicroyalpalaces.com/giftcollections/historicroyalpalaces/towerlondon.html? ga=2.152510718.610095882.1559750652-

122190786.1526120445&dir=desc&order=most viewed&utm campaign=Tower Of London Category&utm source=corp.

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Some cosplayers show on their account the different steps of the creation of their costume which is sometimes very tricky as they intend to add as many details as possible so the costume. Melissa Case, a seamstress, started to work for an Instagram cosplayer on a red gown worn by Natalie Dormer in the first season of The Tudors in November 2018, throughout the process she regularly posted photos on her account which give us an idea of the amount of work, skill and time it took to create the dress. According to one of her post, it took her about two months to finish it. Melissa's customer, Erika Shore, then posted several photographs of her in which she wears the dress, did her hair like Natalie Dormer's in the series and wears the B necklace.

Cosplay on Anne Boleyn posted on Instagram

We can also notice that the cosplayer is photographed in places that look like a park or even the Tower of London which induces Shore's desire to match as much as possible the universe of The Tudors. In one of her posts she talked about Anne Boleyn, arguing that she was «probably one of the most influential women in history» and expressing her desire to «have done her justice and make her proud». Cosplaying Anne Boleyn is not just for entertainment or to gain more subscribers, for some it has a deeper meaning; it is also a way to honor the Tudor Queen and express their desire to claim her innocence but perhaps, somehow to impersonate a historical figure for a moment and

be a part of the «Tudor world».

While some Tudor history lovers dedicate some Instagram posts about Anne Boleyn, others create an account entirely dedicated to her. James Peacock has an account entitled «The Anne Boleyn Society» in which he posts on a nearly daily basis about Anne, Henry VIII or the British monarchy itself. For instance, on June I^st, he made a post about the anniversary of her coronation at Westminster Abbey and told about the progress of the ceremony, what gown Anne wore, etc... Though Peacock's Instagram is about a very precise topic and that history is not really popular on this social medium, his account is followed by nearly thirteen thousand people and his posts are liked by hundreds. This popularity of the story of Anne Boleyn, and English history in general, indicates that, nowadays, people are interested in learning about history everywhere they can, even on social media. Other accounts tackle the Tudor period but not to tell people about the event which took place during the reign of Henry VIII, but to make fun of the historical figures and use the legends and clichés associated with them to entertain their subscribers. An account dedicated to English history and the Tudors regularly posts «memes» or cartoons which depicts the King, his wives or the break with Rome. For instance, in May, the creator of the account posted a drawing depicting Henry VIII and one of his wives with the following sentence; «Good morning, beheaded-uh, I mean beloved». Another account that seems to be more focused on Elizabeth I made a post in which Henry VIII is furious at his computer and screams; «What? Banned from another dating site?». These two examples are nothing but among many other cartoons and jokes history lovers posted online.

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Cartoons about the Tudors

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However, the subject of Tudor history is not only mentioned on social media. Some people even created an entire blog on which they post on daily basis articles about the Tudor history, the events which took place during that period, Tudor historical figures (and not just Henry and his six wives). One of the most famous websites about the Tudors is The Anne Boleyn Files created by Claire Ridgway, a British author and researcher who calls herself «a history lover²⁴⁰». Though, at first sight, her blog seems simple and appears to have been made by an amateur, it is extremely rich and well organized; Claire created several different categories to give her readers information concerning not only the life of Henry VIII's second wife but also her representation in arts, the legends which surround her, the objects and artifacts she possessed, or that are linked with her. Claire was kind enough to answer a few questions concerning her interest for Anne and her work as the administrator of The Anne Boleyn Files.

Claire argued that, when she created her blog, The Tudors series had already been aired so she has no information concerning the audience who developed an interest for the Queen after they saw this adaptation. Yet, according to Mrs Ridgway, when Wolf Hall aired she noticed that apparently the aim of her readers' interest was more Thomas Cromwell than Anne Boleyn. Moreover, she wrote that, when the movie The Other Boleyn Girl airs, she gets «spikes» on her website. Obviously, her observations can indicate that, when people see a Tudor-based work of fiction, they tend to check online to find informations about the historical figures portrayed onscreen.

Yet, The Anne Boleyn Files blog is just a part of Claire's work; she also writes books, she participates to tours such as «the Anne Boleyn experience» tour which is an organized visit of Hever Castle and the Tower of London for people to learn more about the Tudor Queen. Claire also posts regularly videos in which she tackles different aspect of Anne Boleyn's life or the Tudor dynasty, such as the day Jane Seymour was proclaimed Queen of England²⁴¹.

240 theanneboleynfiles. «About.» The Anne Boleyn Files. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/about/.

241 The Anne Boleyn Files and Tudor Society. 4 June 1536 - Jane Seymour Is Proclaimed Queen. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMM8gcPnW9k.

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What can be deduced from these different Instagram accounts and Claire's work online is that, not only people are interested in learning about English history and to seriously debate about it, but they also enjoy making fun and jokes about Henry VIII's rocky private life and the executions of his wives. Somehow they re-appropriate the history but also modernize it, which could even trigger the interest of people who never studied or heard about this period of English history.

4.1 Interest for history

4.1.1 Musicals, series and novels

In 2017, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss had the idea while studying at Cambridge University, to write a musical about the lives of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleaves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr²⁴². This musical is entirely groundbreaking as it is a modern retelling of Henry's wives story; the musical is a pop concert and every six Queens tell about their relationship with the King and their refusal to be «just one word in a stupid rhyme²⁴³» (in reference to the famous «divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived»). According to Toby and Lucy, each Queen is based on a pop singer, from Beyonce to Lily Allen244.

242«Listen Up, Queens! Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss Tell Us the Story of Their Hit Musical Six | TheaterMania.» Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.theatermania.com/chicago-theater/news/interview-six-lucy-moss-toby-marlow 88893.html.

243 Six - Ex-Wives. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ2ZmxWKzJE.

244 «Listen Up, Queens! Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss Tell Us the Story of Their Hit Musical Six. Op. Cit

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Unlike every other fictitious representations of Henry VIII and his six marriages, the King does not appear at all on stage, he is only mentioned by his wives who gives their own version of what happened during their reigns. This musical uses historical references, such as, for instance, Chapuys' statement that Anne insulted Catherine, arguing that she did not recognized her as her mistress. This story is mentioned in Don't Lose Ur Head, Anne Boleyn's song in which she sings «He doesn't want to bang you, somebody hang you²⁴⁵». Historical references are mixed with modernity as the Queens are a girls band, dressed as pop singers with flashy make-up, leather costumes and high heels (figure), which attracts various types of people, from children to adults.

Yet, this musical seems to have another purpose than to retell the story of the Tudor Queens. Indeed, according to the official website, the show also aims at depicting the six wives in a feminist way («From Tudor Queens to Pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of heartbreak into a 75-minute celebration of 21^st century girl power²⁴⁶»).

It is interesting to read that this musical aims at depicting the six wives as feminist figures. However, if we analyze the musical using the Bechdel test, Six is far from being a feminist depiction, of the Tudor Queens. The Bechdel test was inspired by Alison Bechdel and it is used to «measure if women are fairly represented in a film.»²⁴⁷. To measure a fiction there are three rules; there must be at least two female characters, both of them must have names, and they must have other topics of conversation than men. If we submit Six to this test we easily come to the conclusion that the show does not pass the test. Indeed, all the characters are women and their names are mentioned, but the only topic of their song is Henry VIII and the way their relationship with him ended. Therefore, it is possible to question Lucy and Toby's claim that their musical is truly about «girl power»

245 Six - Don't Lose Ur Head. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFnrmOhrUiY.

246 «Six the Musical.» Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.sixthemusical.com/about.

247

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In an interview she gave, Lucy, who studied history at Cambridge, argued that she also wanted to crush the clichés about the Queens²⁴⁸. However, we can wonder whether she truly succeeded. For instance, the Anne Boleyn song, Don't Lose Ur Head, in which she presents herself as young girl who wants to enjoy life at the English court, is far from being an innovative depiction of Anne. Indeed, at the beginning of the song she claims, «Politics? Not my thing». This statement is a complete denial of historical facts as, as we saw it, Anne Boleyn was interested in political matters and even tried to be a political figure during her short-lived reign. Moreover, in the song Ex-Wives, when Anne presents herself and sums up her story, she claims «I broke England from the Church, yeah I'm that sexy». Here her sex-appeal is one of the first thing we learn about Anne in this musical. Yet, she is nearly always depicted as such, therefore, despite Lucy's claim that she wanted to change the representation of the Queens, she depicted Anne as a seductress, as did many other artists before her.

The only cliché Six shattered was that Henry's second wife enjoyed taking Catherine's place or loathed her («I didn't mean to hurt anyone», «I didn't really mean it»), the musical portray her as a victim of gossips a court and not as a cruel woman.

To defend the six Queens, Henry VIII is mentioned in very negative terms; his wives tell about his short temper («With Henry it isn't easy. His temper's short²⁴⁹»), his infidelities («Henry's out every night on the town, just sleeping around²⁵⁰») and his tricks to get rid of them («You read a bible verse that I'm cursed `cause I was your brother's wife. You say it's a pity `cause quoting Leviticus `I'll end up kidless all my life'. Well daddy weren't you there when I gave birth to Mary?»). The British musical does not focus on the King but on his wives, for the first time we focus on Catherine Howard or Anne of Cleaves who are usually overlooked when the reign of Henry VIII is mentioned, they are the heroines of the story, not just secondary characters.

248 «Six the Musical Creators on Making Henry VIII's Wives into Pop Stars.» Evening Standard, November 27, 2018. Accessed June 19, 2019 https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/toby-marlow-lucy-moss-interview-six-west-end-a4001191.html.

249 Ibid.

250 Six - Don't Lose Ur Head. Op. Cit

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When Lucy and Toby got the idea of a musical about the Tudor Queens they feared it could be «bad»²⁵¹, yet the success of their show is impossible to deny. The musical has won many awards, including the Musical of the year award in 2018, the Best Off West End Production award in 2019 and were nominated in five categories of the Oliver Awards²⁵². Though the musical premiered in 2017, the cast still perform today and it even premiered in the United-States, in Chicago, in 2019²⁵³. Such a success for a musical which tackle sixteenth-century English history proves that people have a taste for history, even though it could be because Lucy and Toby modernized it, and that they are not tired of hearing about the Tudors yet.

This long-lasting interest for the Tudor dynasty is also proven by three recent television series broadcast by Starz, an American network and BBC One. The White Queen was the first one to be developed in 2013, it deals with the Wars of the Roses which tore England apart from 1455 to 1487. This ten-episodes series focuses mainly on three women: Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV's Queen Consort, Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII's mother and Anne Neville who was Richard III's wife and the daughter of Richard Neville known as the King's maker. This miniseries can be seen as an introduction to the Tudor dynasty, a way to explain the audience how they came to power and in what circumstances. The White Queen introduces Margaret, or Margaret Regina, as an extremely pious woman, ready to do everything it takes to put her son, Henry, on the throne. The series reuses the character traits associated with the Tudors in its depiction of Margaret: she is ruthless, ambitious, arrogant and cruel enough to have the Princes in the Tower murdered for instance. The series ends with the victory of Henry Tudor on the battlefield during the battle of Bosworth, Margaret arrives and asks people to kneel in front of her and name herself «Margaret Regina». The last scene shows Elizabeth Woodville, the Dowager Queen, announcing her daughter, Elizabeth of York, that she will be Queen of England as she once was²⁵⁴.

251 «Listen Up, Queens! Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss Tell Us the Story of Their Hit Musical Six. Op. Cit

252 «Six the Musical.». Op. Cit.

253 «Chicago Shakespeare Theater: SIX.» Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays and events/six.

254 Teague Colin. The white queen: l'intégrale de la série. Paris] [Paris: Twentieth century Fox home entertainment Fox Pathé Europa diffusion/distribution, 2014.

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Though the focus is mainly on the Plantagenets and their final years on the throne of England, it mentions the origins of Henry VIII and his dynasty but also the birth of the latter. It is quite plausible that the creators of the miniseries knew that, thanks to Showtime's The Tudors, they had a reliable audience who surely would be interested in discovering what happened before Henry VIII and what events put his dynasty on the throne. And obviously, they were right as the series was followed by The White Princess broadcast in April 2017.

This «prequel» introduces us to the beginning of the reign of the Tudors, just after Henry VII defeated Richard III and to the complex relationship between Henry and his wife, Elizabeth of York who plots against him before they both fell in love. Like The Tudors and The White Queen, The White Princess is all about schemes and rivalries as the series mentions the story of Perkin Warbeck who claimed to be Edward IV's son and the rightful King of England, the challenges Henry VII had to face to be accepted as the new Monarch or the King's mother, Margaret, who murdered the Princes in the Tower in The White Queen. Henry VIII is depicted as a young child with his older brother, Arthur, but what is striking is that the series subtly tackled the legend of Henry as Blue Beard. Indeed, perhaps to play with the audience's expectation or their knowledge of the history, the future Henry VIII is described as being a difficult child by Margaret Pole's husband. Moreover, when his father has Perkin Warbeck executed, Henry, despite his young age, does not seem frightened by such a horrific sight²⁵⁵. Though the screenwriters did not focus on his character, if we pay attention it is more than obvious that they played on the King's reputation to be a monster so that we would right away recognize him as the future King who coldly executed his wives and advisers.

The same trick is used in the most recent series about the Tudors; The Spanish Princess. Towards the end of The White Princess, Henry and Elizabeth were trying to convince the Queen of Spain, Isabella to accept the betrothal of her daughter, Catherine, the Infant of Spain to their son, Arthur. The Spanish Princess tells about their engagement, Catherine's arrival at the English court and the many challenges she had to face to become Queen of England²⁵⁶. Once more the recipe remains the same, the series is about schemes, power and passion. Yet, it also depicts for the very first time onscreen, a young Catherine of Aragon who looks nothing like the barren middle-aged

255 Payne Jamie. The White Princess. Suresnes] [Suresnes: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment diffusion/distribution, 2018.

256 STARZ. The Spanish Princess | Official Trailer | STARZ. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=xQp27JgzJpg.

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wife from The Tudors and Wolf Hall. In the series, Charlotte Hope portrays a young strong-willed and ambitious Catherine of Aragon who is willing to do everything it takes to become Queen, even seducing the young future Henry VIII and pretending to be a virgin to get the crown.

This miniseries started in May 2019 and, unlike The White Queen and The White Princess, it was just announced that there would be a second season to depict the end of Catherine of Aragon's story²⁵⁷. This choice is not really a surprise. Indeed, it will be all about Henry VIII and Catherine's marriage and, perhaps, the arrival at court of Anne Boleyn. We can assume that this season will tackle the figure of Henry and the birth of his legend which is exactly what seem to fascinate the audience as The Tudors proved it from 2007 to 2010. Yet, many people did not just watch these series but decided to visit the real places in which the events mentioned in the episodes took place.

4.1.2 Tourism at Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London or Hever Castle.

Last summer, at the Tower of London, near the White Tower, a play which portrayed Anne during her last days as Queen, her imprisonment, her trial and execution took place. For at least two months the tourists could see the play every day, twice a day. To promote this event many flyers were distributed in the tube and the website of Historical Royal Palaces created a page on which they gave informations concerning the play.

The fact that the organizers have chosen to create a play about Anne Boleyn and not Thomas More or Catherine Howard is extremely relevant of the interest and fascination that Anne Boleyn still holds over people today. Indeed, those in charge of the events and guided tours at the Tower of London are very much aware that the figure of Anne Boleyn and her tragic story at the Tower are what attract many tourists there and that telling about her imprisonment and death will always

257 White, Peter, and Peter White. «Starz Hands `The Spanish Princess' Additional Eight-Episode Order To End Catherine Of Aragon's Story.» Deadline (blog), June 3, 2019. https://deadline.com/2019/06/starz-the-spanish-princess-1202626020/.

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trigger emotional reactions among the tourists. Every thirty minutes the yeomen give guided tours across the Tower to tell the tourists about the history of the place and the executions that took place there with humor and gory details. For instance they stress the terrible execution of Margaret Pole who was not beheaded before several strikes, the mysterious murder of the Princes in the Tower but also Anne Boleyn's fate. When the yeomen tell the tourists about the history of the Tower, they mention the Tudor Queen several times. Usually, at first, in front of the infamous Traitor's Gate from where prisoners arrived at the Tower (though Anne is said to have entered the Tower from another entrance), then in front of the memorial which commemorates the death of Anne, Catherine Howard or Lady Jane Grey for instance. There, the yeomen tell us about Anne's beheading and, surely to shock the tourists, that she was executed on the order of her husband who would also kill his fifth wife a few years later. The guided tours ended in the Chapel Peter Ad Vincula where Anne is buried, there they tell tourists about the discovery of her remains and the ones of the other prisoners executed such as Catherine Howard or George Boleyn and pointed out the graves situated under the altar.

Though some details mentioned by the «beefeaters» are not historically accurate, such as Anne's arrival at the Tower, the fact that they stressed several times her story at the Tower indicates that they know it will shock, fascinates or trigger the tourists' interest. They use her story and tragic end to promote the reputation of the Tower of London to be a place where terrible, mysterious and violent events took place since its construction by William the Conqueror in 1078.

Yet, those in charge of the events and tours at the Tower of London are not the only ones to be aware of the attraction and economic return of Anne Boleyn and her tragic story. Though it is located around forty-minutes away from London, in the countryside of Kent near the village of Edenbridge, Hever Castle gets many visitors each day. Though it is not where she was born, this castle is strongly associated with Anne Boleyn as it is her childhood home and where Henry VIII came to visit her and the Boleyn family. These historical facts are used today to attract visitors and Anne Boleyn fans, indeed the welcome page of the website dedicated to Hever Castle right away mentions the link between the Queen and the place with this catchy sentence: «Childhood Home of Anne Boleyn»²⁵⁸. Though many other people lived and owned this thirteenth-century castle, including the famous and wealthy American Astor family in the twentieth-century who renovated many parts of the castle which had been damaged by time and natural disasters, Anne Boleyn is the

258 «Hever Castle & Gardens | Visit Hever Castle In Kent.» Hever Castle. Accessed June 7, 2019. https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/.

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most famous resident of the place.

Indeed, when one comes to visit Hever it will be obvious that a great part of the artifacts exhibited and the information panels are about her. For instance, the book of hours she may have taken with her when she was imprisoned in 1536 at the Tower of London is on display and visitors can use a screen to zoom on the pages to see the details but also Anne's own signature. A permanent exhibition is also dedicated to Anne Boleyn's life at Hever, a part of her childhood bed is exhibited in what used to be her bedroom and mannequins which represent Anne, Henry VIII or Catherine of Aragon have been put in several parts of the castle to depict the story of Anne and Henry's relationship. The story of Hever Castle and the fact that it had been the place where Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII courted not only attracts curious tourists but also engaged couples who have decided to marry and celebrate their union at Hever. There is even a page dedicated to the organization of weddings there and an Instagram account (followed by more than 26 000 people) on which several pictures of newlywed couples are taken in the park which surrounds the castle, near the lake or at the entrance of the castle.

Another place is also strongly associated with the Tudor Queen; Hampton Court Palace located in West London. This palace is one of the best preserved Tudor castle as many rooms such as the Great Hall or the Royal Chapel still stand, even after the Stuart dynasty altered a great part of the palace. A few reminders of Anne Boleyn's queenship remained in the Great Hall and when tour guides tell the tourists about the place they always show Anne and Henry's initials in the woodwork and her emblem, a falcon that remained there after her execution.

These elements can lead us to consider the idea that, perhaps, the various series, films and novels about the Tudors could be the reason behind this popularity. I decided to send an email to the Historic Royal Places charity which deals with the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace, etc... to ask if the visit figures increased when The Tudors and Wolf Hall were broadcast. Mr Phipp, the Governance Assistant, answered that many factors influence the visit figures, but he was kind enough to send me these figures. What is striking is that, in 2008, 493, 146 people visited Hampton Court Palace, the next year the figures increased drastically as more than 609,000 came to the palace. Though Mr Phipp was unable to link this increase of visits, it might be possible to link it with Showtime's series and its success worldwide. Indeed, in 2009, the American television series was already at its third seasons and quite famous, not only in the US but also in the United-Kingdom and in France (the series was broadcast by Arte). However, the visit figures

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increased even more a few years ago. In 2015, nearly 599,000 tourists came to Hampton Court, but this figure rose to 903,270 the next year. This drastic change appeared the year after Wolf Hall was broadcast in the United Kingdom, here again it is impossible to prove that Kosminsky's series is the reason for this increasing popularity but we could presume that, after watching the series, some people interested enough in history decided to visit the places mentioned.

Visitors figures for Hampton Court Palace

In the end we can consider the idea that fiction, especially now that we have so many ways to watch series through the internet, can trigger the interest of the audience for history and historical figures who rediscover the past and share their passion online through blogs, social media...

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