The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Length: 672 pages
Price: I bought mine used a long time ago, but it looks like Amazon has used paperbacks starting at around $7
Author Website: http://www.philippagregory.com/ (photo credit)
Basic Premise: This novel follows Mary Boleyn, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon, the first (of six, mind you) wife of Henry VIII. Mary catches the king's eye and is forced by her family to leave her husband and become the king's mistress. That is, until the king chooses her sister, Anne.
My Take: 7.5 out of 10 (scale here)
I read this book a few years ago during my first wave of interest in this time period. I also read The Constant Princess by the same author and a number of YAL books about the women surrounding Henry VIII. I decided to reread this one after completing The Redheaded Princess a few weeks ago. Philippa Gregory is an excellent author. Her words flow easily and effortlessly and her attention to detail, especially when it comes to aspects of this royal culture, is flawless. The book is a page turner. It's filled with mystery, intrigue, and a fair amount of...well...yuckiness. Anne Boleyn was ultimately executed for alleged witchcraft and incest. Who knows what really happened, but this author takes the incest track. It does not go into detail, thank God (though it does become graphic in other areas), but it was a bit disturbing nonetheless. It's an interesting and entertaining read. It's also interesting to note that this was all going on right around the time that people were traveling to the Americas. I don't wonder why they wanted to be rid of England!
No comments:
Post a Comment