The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
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Book Reviews of The Boleyn Inheritance
Book Review: The Boleyn Inheritance
Summary: 5 Stars
Pub. Date: December 2006
* Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing
* Sold by: Simon & Schuster Digital Sales
* Format: eBook, 528pp
* Sales Rank: 4,580
* Series: Philippa Gregory Tudor Series, #3
* Product Browse duration in Minutes: 60
* File Size: 603 KB
* ISBN-13: 9780743298544
* ISBN: 0743298543
The Boleyn Inheritance is told from three points of view: Jane Boleyn (wife to the deceased Thomas), Anne of Cleaves (Henry's fourth wife), and Katherine Howard (Henry's fifth wife). Jane is the expert maid in waiting. She is called upon by the Duke of Norfolk to keep an eye on the new queen and report back to him anything that she does. Jane owes her life to the Duke, and so she is in his pocket to survive. Jane poses as a friend to the new queen Anne and attempts to be in her confidence as the story continues. However, Jane begins to like the queen and when plots against her begin to crop up, she has doubts whether she can put another queen to death as she did to her sister-in-law Anne Boleyn. The thoughts of Anne Boleyn and her husband Thomas haunt her throughout the book. Jane poses as the wise older woman who has been through quite a lot, but her transformation towards the end shows that she still has a lot to learn.
Anne of Cleaves is considered an unreformed woman by her family, but she is chosen to become the new queen of England because an alliance between England and Cleaves would be helpful. She does not speak a word of English, but as she moves into her new life, she learns quickly. Because of her troubles at home, she has no idea how to please the king in bed. This leaves their marriage unconsummated. Henry also detests her after a mix-up in one of his games. Although she is a pure and strong girl, she often finds herself bending to the will of the men that she finds in charge of her. When she is dethroned, she becomes a sister to the king and finds herself much happier in the countryside. She loves England, but counts herself lucky to be one of the few that survives King Henry's marriage.
Lastly, Katherine Howard is a young, flirty girl. Her beauty catches the king's eye and he courts her while he is married to Anne and Katherine is a maid in waiting. Katherine's uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, wants to see the king and Katherine wed. He schemes and encourages the flirtations until it actually happens. Katherine is a flighty little girl and only measures things in what materials she receives. She often begins her narration with a list of what she owns. This is probably because she is only around fifteen when she marries the king. She attempts to please him in bed, but it is difficult work when he is so old, fat, and wounded. Finally, with the help of Jane, she takes on a lover. Then, as with Anne Boleyn, all hell breaks loose and the king attempts to kill everyone.
I know that I keep saying this, but I have been on a historical fiction kick. I really enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl (book only, movie was terrible), so I decided that I would continue with this series. As time moves on, I am hoping to go through each one. Gregory has a way with characters. It's like you get to see into their souls and travel inside their heads with them. Anne of Cleaves was by far my favorite character in this story, but all three women were beautifully illustrated. As I was reading, I could feel my moods shift with the difference in narration. Katherine was always bubbly and it made me want to read her parts faster as if I was speaking them like a young girl would in a quicker, happier tone. The plot is predictable, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. It is nothing new what happened within King Henry's court. Her books are much more interesting than anything else that I have read about him though. I'm sure that she has taken liberties with parts of history to make her tales more enchanting and personable, but I would recommend it to people who want a glimpse of what he was like. Gregory's tales are definitely worth a reread and they are something that I will keep upon my shelves.
5/5 stars
Book Review: The Axeman Cometh!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The timing for my reading of this book was perfect as The Tudors, Season 3, is presently being aired on TV and it covers the same period in history as The Boleyn Inheritance does. Henry's beloved wife Jane Seymour has just died as a result of childbirth and he is encouraged to take another wife.
So begins this 6th Philippa Gregory book dealing with the life and many wives of King Henry VIII. This last book in the series takes on his marriages to Ann of Cleves and Katherine Howard. If your memory of what happened with these two wives is scarce, it's probably better because the book then becomes that much more of a page turner. I stayed up until 2:30AM finishing it because I simply could not put it down. I had to know what was going to happen before I went to sleep. With a book like this, it probably wasn't the best idea because it only leads to dreams of The Tower and the "axe". I say this is the last book in the series but I do not know this definitely because there is still one more wife, Katherine Parr, so perhaps Gregory is going to take us into that marriage as well.
This book has three different narrators and each mini chapter is told from their individual voices. We first meet Ann of Cleves as she is hoping to get chosen as Henry's 4th wife. Then there's Katherine Howard, who is hoping to go to court serving the new Queen. Lastly there's Lady Rochford, better known as Jane Boleyn. It was she who was married to Ann Boleyn's brother George and it was her testimony alone that sent him to the scaffold.
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. Gregory intersperses her own dose of fiction into the already written history about these years in Henry's life. When you think of the time in history you yourself are born into, you can't help but think "thank God I wasn't born in England during this period". It was such a time of turbulence with an unstable tyrant of a King. I can't even fathom it and, more to the point, I can't even fathom wanting to be his Queen.
I guess there's two ways to read this series....either chronologically or the order in which Gregory wrote them. I chose the latter starting with The Other Boleyn Girl and ending with The Boleyn Inheritance. As it turns out, the first and last books written ended up being my two favorites. I guess an argument could be made for reading them either way but I'm happy I did it the way I did. There's nothing better than beginning and ending a series with two "great" books.
So I encourage any lover of historical fiction to read this book. You won't be disappointed.
Book Review: Could not put it down!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the second Philippa Gregory book I've read. Next to "The Other Boleyn Girl" this one is no less dazzling although it does not carry as much sexual flair as "The Other Boleyn Girl." I'm quite a fan of the history of the British Monarchy and have read nearly every non-fiction book I can find on the subject. Someone gave me the "Other Boleyn Girl" and now I'm hooked on Gregory's talent for weaving fact with fiction.
"The Boleyn Inheritance" is about the lives of mainly three women--
-Anne of Cleves
-Jane Boleyn
-Catherine Howard
The book is structured such that each chapter is told by Anne, Jane or Catherine in a first person narrative. I like this format because we see what each of them may have been thinking during the tumultuous times if King Henry VIII's waning years.
If you don't know the history, you may be a little lost. I would suggest reviewing the Tudor/Windsor family trees to keep track and to truly appreciate the complexity of the story. Anne of Cleves comes from Germany and is the 4th wife of King Henry VIII. The book details her departure from Germany, arrival in England and subsequent short marriage to Henry. Anne is pushed aside for Catherine Howard who becomes his 5th wife. Anne is set up as a 'sister' of the King in a palace near-by but always worries for her safety given the King's history with Anne Boleyn. Catherine Howard was only 14 when she arrived at Court, works in Queen Anne's household and is portrayed as simple but beautiful and fun-loving. Jane Boleyn is the widow of George Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's brother (both were executed regarding Anne's supposed affairs/treason accusations detailed in "The Other Boleyn Girl"). Jane is complex and clever, but her actions seem really evil. There is much irony at the end of the book regarding Jane, the Tower, and her husband/sister-in-law's fates. There are other important characters including a Boleyn uncle who orchestrates much of the drama with Catherine Howard. Also, princesses Mary and Elizabeth are heavily noted and both are future queens.
"The Boleyn Inheritance" will take you from Anne of Cleve's departure from Germany (right after the King's beloved Jane Seymour's death) through her role as `sister' to the King and on to Catherine's miserable end. It truly is an amazing tale... Buy it, read it, share it, enjoy it!
Book Review: Good Book despite the fact that it took me a long time to finish it
Summary: 5 Stars
This was my very first Philippa Gregory novel & although it is set to be an indirect sequel to The Other Boleyn Girl and the Constant Princess, I had no trouble reading it as a novel that stands by its own.
I know that some readers who are not familiar with the story of Henry VIII and his six wives may find this book quite confusing if they read it without reading the previous two but even if you had a general knowledge of the story, You'll understand this book quite easily.
The Book talks about the lives of three women (Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard (Ketty Howard) and Jane Rochford (Jane Boleyn) who was Anne Boleyn's sister in-law. The novel is said in the Point of view of each of the three women. And although there is a constant switch in the narration between those three, it made the book quite interesting instead of confusing as some people may think. There is no third person here, the story is told by those three women as narrators each of them by her own point of view.
It took me a long time to read this novel, 10 days almost I don't usually take that much time to read a novel especially with less than 600 pages but the switching between the three women made me slow down but its simply because I'm not used to this type of narrations.
Regardless it was a good book, a good read I liked the fact that even if Philippa Gregory took some liberties in forming the thoughts of those three women she kept the accuracy in her work. The Only thing that I had a problem with was Katherine Howard's age in this novel the author made her to appear as a 14 year old maid when she served in the court of Anne Of Cleves, which made her 15 when she became Queen and 16 when she died. I know that Katherine's real age was unknown but it is set to be that she was anywhere from 17-21 when she was beheaded. However despite the fact that the author had made Katherine very young in this novel, it wasn't much of a big issue because it suited the novel very well and it also suited Katherine's personality.
You may get confused by all the switching back and forth between the three ladies but its an enjoyable read and it really gives you a good look at the court of Henry VIII.
Book Review: A skilfully-woven story of family, deceit, divided loyalties and ill-fortune that binds three women together. BCM
Summary: 5 Stars
The Boleyn Inheritance is a marvellous story! The characters are so full of life and are superbly detailed. The story has a wonderful flow and the plot twists make you love the book all the more. I felt such a strong sense of loyalty to the new Queen Anne of Cleves and I very much wanted her to succeed on the throne. I was also very intrigued by the beautiful young and naive Katherine who was too immature and dense to realize that she was being manipulated by her betters, to influence and manoeuvre the king to their advantage. Jane is perhaps the most fascinating character in this novel because of the mysteriousness of her past and her absolute determination to rise in importance. She seems to live in a somewhat warped reality, no doubt caused by trauma of her husband's death, for treason. The plot is very intriguing and I enjoyed all the stealthy manoeuvring and arrogance of many of the characters in this story; all vying for attention, riches and importance in a kingdom run by the overbearing tyrant, King Henry. The three main characters in this story are bound together by their connection to the throne of England. Anne, Katherine and Jane all have their duties to see to and family titles to enrich through their skillful work and scheming determination. One woman must spy on the new Queen. Another is involved in a plot to draw the kings attention away from the Queen, to herself. And one woman wants nothing more then to be a good queen to her people and have a happy, peaceful home and kingdom to live in. Either through marriage or blood, they are all a part of the Boleyn family.
This entertaining story will pull you in and satisfy your cravings for some mystery and romance, while stuffing you to bursting point with the scandalous delights and terrors of the Royal court.
I very highly recommend this book!!
(10 out of 10 Diamonds) - Absolutely LOVED it!!
© 2008-2009 Bobbie Crawford-McCoy (Book Reviews By Bobbie).
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