The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.48 You Save: $14.52 (91%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Other Boleyn Girl
Book Review: A different take on the story of Anne Boleyn
Summary: 5 Stars
While reading this book, I was never sure who the 'other Boleyn girl' actually was. At times it referred to Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister who conducted an affair with King Henry and bore him two children, and at other times it seemed to refer to Anne herself, who's driven ambition ultimately led her to the block. This is a nice twist on the title which would lead you to believe that it was only Mary who was considered beneath contempt as the other Boleyn sister's fortunes rose.
The choice of having Mary Boleyn as narrator of this story was inspired as it provides a completely different look at the complexities of court life and an intimate look at what it must have been like to be so tied to the future Queen of England even as your loyalties lay with the current Queen, Katherine of Aragon. Mary is between a rock and a hard place and her guilt and confusion come through so clearly on the pages. Katherine is portrayed sympathetically here as the cuckolded wife who must bear her husband's infidelities even as they happen right in front of her.
As she goes from being the pawn in her family's game to raise the family's name at court to being a mere lady-in-waiting to her sister who manages to usurp her position, she realizes that her ultimate dream would be to own a farm in the country and to raise her children in peace, away from the glittering, cut-throat court. As Anne finally becomes Queen of England, you get Mary's constant commentary on the familiar story of her inability to provide the King with a male heir, her frantic attempt to sustain her crown, and her eventual downfall ending with her beheading. If I didn't already have a picture of her as a selfish manipulator, I would have been absolutely infuriated by her after reading of her behavior in this book!
This is definitely a work of fiction as not much is known about Mary Boleyn, but what entertaining fiction it is! Note: It does help to have a bit of background knowledge about the major players as the names and titles can get a bit confusing.
Book Review: Great work of historical fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
The Other Boleyn Girl tells the story of Mary Boleyn, sister to the infamous Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Mary becomes caught up in a series of political intrigues, as her family plots to become more powerful, especially against the Seymour family. Mary gives birth to Henry's child; in the meantime, Anne swoops in to take her place as Henry's mistress. Serving as backdrop is Henry VIII's court in the 16th century, where Henry and Katherine of Aragon's marriage is coming to an end. Tired of Katherine for not being able to produce a male heir, Henry breaks away from the Catholic Church in England and starts his own, so that he may divorce his wife. Philippa Gregory describes all of this in startling detail, as we watch Anne and Mary Boleyn vie for the King's affection. Power and status is what drives everybody involved. Its a fascinating look into life at court under the reign of Henry VIII.
We get to see what Anne Boleyn was really like. Of course, we've heard stories, but I was amazed to see just what kinds of things she could do. Mary was the best kind of narrator for this novel, as we got to see firsthand the court and its going-ons. We often see Katherine of Aragon depicted in the history books as the frumpy, housfrou; here she becomes a real, genuine, loyal woman, who wouldn't give up her religion, no matter how much she loved her husband. That spoke of real character and courage on her part.
The book takes us up to Anne's beheading. Again dissatisfied with the fact that he does not have a male heir, Henry trumps up charges of adultery against Anne. The ending is frightening, an account of what such a gruesome moment might have been like. It is said that, when the executioner lifted up Anne's head afterwards, the mouth moved. Gregory uses exquisite details to describe this event, and many others throughout the book.
I've read many other works on historical fiction, and none other compares to The Other Boleyn Girl. It is very definitely a book worth reading.
Book Review: truly fabulous work of historical fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished The Other Boleyn Girl and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't usually go for historical fiction since history is usally dry and fiction is not meant to be taken as more than creative license. But Phillip Gregory has blended both mediums masterfully. I found using Mary as the narrator, the infamous Anne Boleyn's sister very clever since so much is historiclly documented about Anne and very little is actually known about Mary. We are told that Anne is older and was sent to be trained in the French court and that Mary is the younger sister being married at aged 12 and placed as Queen Katherine's lady in waiting. I have always found Anne Boleyn's tale fascinating.
Gregory is not a historian, so if she erred somewhat on the order and dates of some of the demises of the famous clergy or wars, so be it. At times I forgot I was reading fiction I got so caught up in the political intrigue and the Howard family's lust for power at the expense of their own kin. Her portrayal of George Boleyn was very colorful though there is no way to know if the allegations of him being homosexual or whether he actually did engage in incest to help his sister Anne beget a son to save her posisiton are true. The sibling rivalry between Anne and mary plays true. Anne uses her sister so meanly in her asirations to become queen, yet Mary is still supportive of her sister to the very end as Anne falls from grace and is executed.
We see Mary, who truly cares for the king being pushed by her family to keep the interest of the king for their selfish rise in power and then callously pushed aside by both the king and her family when neither have further use for her. While Anne is ruthless, and self serving, Mary matures and eventually develops the courage to take control of her life by marrying the man she loves and defying her overbearing family. I recommend this book this anyone who is drawn to this famous period of history and wants to see it "come alive" in print.
Book Review: Love, ambition, scandal, politics, intrigue...a deliciously juicy read!
Summary: 5 Stars
The novel is about the Boleyn family, an ambitious family at the court of Henry the VIII and their relentless pursuit of gaining the king's favor and maintaining a superior place at court. The narrator is the "lesser known" Boleyn sister, Mary, who as a young sweet 13 year old, becomes Henry's mistress, with her family's cunning manipulation. Upon gaining the king's favor, her ambitious family, pit her and her more infamous and conniving sister, Anne, to maintain the Kings' attention. Anne, with her wit, intelligence, wily ways and more exotic beauty, eventually becomes Henry's 2nd wife. This comes at the cost of the loss of popularity among the people of England, and a controversy that leads to her demise as she displaces the popular Queen, Catherine of Aragon. Mary, who is initially disillusioned and hurt, eventually finds love and her way out of court, but losses grace in the eyes of her family.
The story is rich with romance, sex, scandal, politics, intrigue and drama. It is deliciously entertaining and filled with various trivia that reel you in and make you wonder about the real story behind what is common knowledge. Before reading this book, I was never into the whole Tudor England-history. Being previously uninformed about this, I enjoyed learning about the monarchy, life at court and a general history of Henry VIII.
Although the book is probably well researched, it is likely that many details were embellished and perhaps inconsistent with other accounts. But you must remember, this is a work of FICTION. If you already consider yourself an expert on this topic and are looking for another accurate account you may be disappointed. I enjoyed this book but cannot deny that the writing borders on romance-novel quality, so, I would only recommend this book if you are LOOKING TO BE ENTERTAINED while learning a few things about the Boleyns, Tudor England and life at court in the 1500's.
Book Review: It's fiction, brilliant FICTION
Summary: 5 Stars
The first thing you need to know about this book is that it is a work of fiction! If you want to read a biography of members of English monarchy, then strolling through the fiction shelf is a bad idea. A lot of people are casting doubts on the accuracy of events in this book. It's not meant to be accurate, it is fiction. A lot of people had the same reaction to The Da Vinci Code, another brilliant book. That was not meant to be an accurate account of the Catholic Church and this particular book is not meant to be one of the Boleyns. To accuse "historical fiction" of inaccuracy is such an obvious oxymoron that well, strange that people do it!
The plot: It is absolutely brilliant; starts and ends on the gravest notes possible. We begin our journey through 16th century England right at the execution block and end it there. The story is woven to delight any reader and it is the kind of plot which makes you reach out for the book every time you put it down.
The characters: I must say, I have been utterly blown away by the character development. Who cares if the original people involved were any different, if Anne was any less of a plotter than she is portrayed to be in this book? The characters stick with you and your first instinct upon ending the book is to go online and look for The Boleyn Inheritance to see what became of the survivors.
Writing style: The writing style is, if anything, immaculately compatible with historical fiction. I have to say this book defines the genre and as you can probably see, it has over 800 reviews with a stunning average. The writing has stayed in my head while I was reading the book and I literally had to force myself to put it down before going to bed.
All in all, this book was an absolute pleasure to read and for those of you wondering whether you should take the plunge into historical fiction, it's the ideal platform to start.