Ives fails to tackle the contentious issue of when Anne Boleyn was born - historians are currently divided as to whether it was 1501 or 1507. There are compelling arguments to be made for both (Paget sets out a very strong case for 1501 in his 'The Youth of Anne Boleyn' whereas Retha M. Warnicke sets out an equally strong case for 1507 in 'The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn.') Ives concedes that 'whilst most authorities have favoured 1507' it is '1501 which is correct.' He does not say why, he feels, 1501 is right and 1507 is not.

Ives fails to discuss the theories of other historians in any great length, although the biography was useful in that it opened up the debate for other historians. R.M. Warnicke was particularly incensed by this book and her 'Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn' is in direct response to Ives' work.

The book is interesting and informative in parts but it by no means deserve the accolade of 'definitive biography.' In a subject as controversial and enigmatic as Anne Boleyn such a thing, I doubt, will ever exist.