The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Other Boleyn girl is told from the viewpoint of Mary Boleyn â the âotherâ Boleyn sister, sister to Anne the future Queen of England. There is a focus on the life of the relatively little known Mary as well as the tale of Anne's ascendency and fall. Mary is initially chosen as mistress to Henry VIII â a role that she is pushed into by her family. When the star seems to be shining on Anne â the family throws Mary aside in favor of Anne. Even though Mary is not the star of the family anymore, they still seek to control her every move â when she marries someone that is not approved of they lash out at her. Even though Anne constantly mistreats her sister, she still comes back to her.
The story of Anne Boleyn is a much told story â but seeing it from the eyes of her sister puts her story into a very different perspective â sort of how I felt about reading about Anne from the eyes of her daughter Elizabeth in The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell. I loved the compassion and general down-to-earthness of Mary, even when the world was spinning out of control. She was a constant character that you could connect with and anchor to in a turbulent world.
Gregory DOES change many events in the book from what is known to have really happened as well as embellished the real story in favor of the best told story. The good thing about this though, is that this is Historical Fiction and that is what I expect. If you are looking for true facts, check out a non-fiction book, but for a good story, try this on for size.
I couldn't put this book down and as soon as I finished it I picked up The Boleyn Inheritance, the next in the series.
5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Other Boleyn girl is told from the viewpoint of Mary Boleyn â the âotherâ Boleyn sister, sister to Anne the future Queen of England. There is a focus on the life of the relatively little known Mary as well as the tale of Anne's ascendency and fall. Mary is initially chosen as mistress to Henry VIII â a role that she is pushed into by her family. When the star seems to be shining on Anne â the family throws Mary aside in favor of Anne. Even though Mary is not the star of the family anymore, they still seek to control her every move â when she marries someone that is not approved of they lash out at her. Even though Anne constantly mistreats her sister, she still comes back to her.
The story of Anne Boleyn is a much told story â but seeing it from the eyes of her sister puts her story into a very different perspective â sort of how I felt about reading about Anne from the eyes of her daughter Elizabeth in The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell. I loved the compassion and general down-to-earthness of Mary, even when the world was spinning out of control. She was a constant character that you could connect with and anchor to in a turbulent world.
Gregory DOES change many events in the book from what is known to have really happened as well as embellished the real story in favor of the best told story. The good thing about this though, is that this is Historical Fiction and that is what I expect. If you are looking for true facts, check out a non-fiction book, but for a good story, try this on for size.
I couldn't put this book down and as soon as I finished it I picked up The Boleyn Inheritance, the next in the series.
5 out of 5 stars
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