The Last Boleyn is a novel by Karen Harper

Karen Harper

Karen Harper is an historical fiction and contemporary fiction author. She is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.-Writing career:...

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Previously published as Passion's Reign in 1983, The Last Boleyn tells the story of the middle Boleyn child: Mary

Mary Boleyn

Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...

. Unlike her siblings, Anne

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...

 and George, Mary Boleyn was left wholly forgotten by history. Their father, Thomas, uses his own children to rise to power; a practice commonplace in sixteenth century England.
In 1512, it is decided that Mary will be sent first to the court of Archduchess Margaret of Austria and then to the French court as maid-in-waiting to Louis XII's

Louis XII of France

Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...

 English wife, Mary Tudor.