Brenna B. (demiducky25) reviewed on 12/27/2008 + 161 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I read this one over the summer but for some reason forgot to review it. Anyway, it started off a bit slow but soon picked up. This book as singlehandedly helped to thrust me into wanting to study the Tudor Dynasty. I put the other books in this series on my WishList (nearly all received now) as well a few other non-fiction books on this same topic (received a number of those too). Serious, this family was like a soap opera. Anyway, this story is told from the point of view of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's second wife). From Mary's POV it shows the events that led to the fall of Queen Katherine and the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. I was disgusted by how young girls were treated like game pieces, being married off to make alliances (boys too to an extent). The decadence and vanity of the court is on full display here. I kept cheering for William Strafford, Mary's second husband, a commoner, who was the only voice of reason at times since he was an outsider to court culture. Of course some events are dramatized since this is a work of fiction, you can tell that the author made a great attempt to research the true events (though were there are conflicting events, particularly with the charges made against Anne and her brother George) the author had to pick one so the story could progress. I look forward to reading Philippa Gregory's other books.

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