The Other Boleyn Girl
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Everyone knows the fate of Anne Boleyn, but not many know the story of her rise to majesty and the part played by her rival and sister, Mary, who was Henry's mistress and mother to two of his bastard children before the dazzling older Boleyn girl even caught his eye. Philippa Gregory, whose own role as the Queen of historical romance grows more secure with each new novel, has surpassed her self with this epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal. The Other Boleyn Girl charts the lives of both Boleyns--each in their turn "the other Boleyn Girl"--and their fiercely ambitious, conniving family who used the girls as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII. At 13, Mary is little more than a child when she is presented to Henry, ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by opening her legs whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great monarch desires. And while his loins are satisfied, life at court is sweet for the unofficial Queen and her pushy coterie. Inevitably though, the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary is overlooked, helpless to do anything but aid her family's plot to advance their fortunes, replace her with Anne and give Henry the greatest gift of all: a son and heir.
So good a job has Ms Gregory done at portraying the Boleyns and Howards as selfish, scheming, treacherous manipulators however, that it becomes increasingly hard to feel empathy for any of them. While Mary is merely hapless, Anne is the most ruthless of them all, so that instead of feeling cheated by knowing the outcome of her story, it only serves to help digest her unpalatable rise. Such a gruesome destiny was never more deserved. Ms Gregory has worked hard at researching her historical references. Daily life at court is described in fascinating detail--from the relentless leisure pursuits, masques and banquets laid on for the easily bored King to the complex hierarchies and machinations of the courtiers. However, the fall of Queen Katherine of Aragon and her only child, the Princess Mary, and the politics of the competing European courts and the break with Rome are seen only as a backdrop to the bawdy goings-on of the Boleyns and their fateful race for the crown. --Carey Green
Review
‘When it comes to writers of historical fiction, Philippa Gregory is in the very top league’
DAILY MAIL
‘It is a credit to Gregory that she is able to sustain interest in an epic-length tale when the ending is one of the most well-known moments in english history. The very believable dialogue and detail take you all the way into the claustrophobic privy chambers of the royal palaces…Gregory has launched herself into a popular period and produced something with that most underrated of virtues: readability.’ THE TIMES
‘Philippa Gregory’s books are always a good read’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
‘This is an intelligent variation on a familiar tale [with] witty use of metaphor’ TLS
Praise for EARTHLY JOYS
‘Brilliantly true to the period… I was entranced’
Lisa Jardine, Times
Praise for VIRGIN EARTH
‘A gripping story’
Mail on Sunday
‘Exciting and fascinating’
Sunday Telegraph
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but not a book to be taken literally.,
By
This review is from: The Other Boleyn Girl (Paperback)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and re-read it often. The characters are interesting, the story is well-paced and well-told, and Phillipa Gregory invokes the sights and sounds of the Tudor court very well. In Mary Boleyn, the book's narrator, she creates a character that the reader cares about, and surrounds her with even more entertaining historical figures - if there is one drawback to this book, it is that Mary is eclipsed by her 'supporting cast'.
However, as good as this book is, it is not one to be believed. Gregory's facts are deeply in question - it is well known that Mary was the older Boleyn sister, not the younger, and her reptutation is at odds with the naive country girl that Gregory presents us with. It is highly unlikely that her children were fathered by the king (he'd never hesitated to bestow myriad titles on his other illigitemate son, after all, and yet Henry Carey, Mary Boleyn's son, went ignored), and the depiction of Anne Boleyn is unnecessarily negative. The pity we are presumably supposed to feel for Anne at the end of the book feels a little forced after Gregory has chronicled the cruelty, selfishness and incest of the character, but nevertheless Anne is fascinating to read about, and once again Gregory's gift for writing good characters is shown spectacularly. If you read this book as a novel, a story, and ignore the historical innacuracies, then you will almost certainly enjoy it. The relationship between the three Boleyn siblings is interesting, and Gregory is very skilled at showing us the court - so much so, in fact, that the book dims a little when Mary is away from London. Katherine of Aragon is excellently portrayed, and the machinations of the Duke of Norfolk, the head of the Howard family, are intriguing. Mary's love affair with William is touching - all the more so because it is the one thing we can be sure is true.
31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book if not factually correct,
By
This review is from: The Other Boleyn Girl (Paperback)
I read this book last year having always been intrigued by the Boleyn family. Philippa Gregory draws you in with her easy to read style so much so that at times I felt like I was spying on certain conversations and found myself with tears in my eyes during the last few chapters. If you are remotely interested in the Tudors or even if you want to enjoy a good romance then this is the book for you.
I would however, like to point out why this book didn't get 5 stars. The books only failing is that it is factually incorrect and many people seem to take what Philippa Gregory has written about as fact and not the fiction that it is. There are many different stories about Anne Boleyn some painting her as a saint and some as an all out witch. I felt that Anne was portrayed well in the sense of her ambition and desire to be queen (it was rare in that day and age for a woman to be so sure of her own path which I think makes her an excellent role model). The second half of the book however, follows a story that is a 'rumour' and just one account of what may have really happened. Philippa Gregory states that Anne Boleyn was the eldest daughter when in fact it is still unknown which daughter was born first. According to many historians it is likely that Mary was the eldest. Also do not believe Mary to be the perfect angelic girl painted in this book. It has been recorded that she, unlike her sister Anne, was quite loose with her favours at a very early age, whilst studying in France. Before she was Henry's mistress the King of France at the time boasted that he had had the pleasure of her company on an intimate level referring to her as "my hackney carriage". If you enjoy this book and would like to learn more I would recommend Alison Weir's book "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" as an excellent follow-on or alternatively "Six Wives" by David Starkey.
44 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read it for what it is - a really, really good story.,
By
This review is from: The Other Boleyn Girl (Paperback)
I'm giving The Other Boleyn Girl five stars because it's the first time for probably years, that I'm going around telling everyone I talk to how much I love this book. For the first time in ages, I became totally immersed and didn't skim a single page.
As for the criticisms about historical accuracy which it has received, I would just say that it is not claiming to be a historical biography or an investigation into the Reformation, but a tale spun between the historical events which took place. I understood it not as Philippa Gregory saying "This is what happened", but rather, "This is a story which could have filled these gaps - enjoy.". I enjoyed the characterisation of the Boleyns; it all went to create a very compelling story. Mary's love story post-Henry is particularly touching and I liked the fact that, although billed as "two sisters competing for the love of a king", the novel went beyond that and into the adult lives of the protagonists. Perhaps a little off-topic, I'm also pretty taken aback that some reviewers are stating that the real Mary Boleyn was 'promiscuous' from a very early age. The one thing that stood out in the book to me was the culture of very, very young 'women' being traded between men at court, whether for marriage or just sex; I hardly think a (pre-)adolescent girl could have said 'no' to a king. Also, I disagree with the opinion that Mary was the 'weak' sister in this novel, and Anne the 'strong' one. One desperately hitching her fortunes to the whims of a man for no real motive but a lust for power, and one finding the courage to break away and be her own woman, finding strength in owning and managing her own land? I know which I think is the better "role model" (for want of a better term). And yes, perhaps the real Boleyn sisters were not like their fictional counterparts. It shouldn't really bother the reader unless they have just published a PhD of "Anne Boleyn: Feminist Icon". Anyway, for the first time since primary school, I've actually begun to be be interested in Tudor history, so there's a point for the historians, I suppose!
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