#11 ~ The Other Boleyn Girl
March 12, 2007 at 1:44 am | Posted in Books, Culture, Henry VIII, Historical Fiction, Philippa Gregory, Reading, Secrets and Lies | 16 CommentsTags: Anne Boleyn, George Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon, Mary Boleyn, Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl, TOBG
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
When I picked up this book to begin reading, I thought I would never finish it. 650+ pages? I have been keeping pace with my book a week goal. I was certain that this would take much longer to read. I was completely wrong. I finished it in less than three days. I couldn’t bear to put it down. It was an interesting and fast paced book. It was not at all what I had expected.
This book tells the story of Mary Boleyn, Anne‘s younger sister and the first of the Boleyn girls to become Henry the VIII‘s lover. Mary’s family, caring only for the advancement of the family and nothing for what Mary wants, pushes her to Henry’s bed. She eventually bares him a daughter and a son. Unfortunately for the Howard family, Mary was much more interested in her children than in the royal court. Her depression after they took her son Henry from her put an end to her affair with the king. While she was “unclean,” Anne stepped in and caught the Henry’s interest. From there, she connives to rid him of his first wife, Katherine, so that he can marry her. Only after her own marriage to the king does Anne understand the bed she had made for herself. Despite being treated harshly by Anne, Mary remains by her side until she marries a commoner. Mary’s marriage to William Stafford makes Anne even more spiteful because her sister has the happiness she can never have. The rest is history. Anne bore a daughter named Elizabeth, but she never carried another child to term. The last pregnancy resulted in a still birth to a child full of birth defects. That was all the ammunition that Henry needed to rid himself of Anne forever.
Knowing what ultimately happened to Anne did not in any way affect the enjoyment of this book. If anything, it enhanced it. Mary struggled with what her family wanted and finally found happiness. Anne did everything she could to obtain a powerful position for herself foremost and the reader knows all along that she will regret where her ambition brought her in the end.
I cannot wait to read another of Ms. Gregory’s books. I immediately ordered 6 more from half.com. I will be waiting anxiously for my packages to arrive.
Links to my reviews of other Philippa Gregory Novels
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There’s a movie based on this book releasing in January, no? I love watching movie adaptations of books – I can’t wait to see what they do with it.
Comment by Sapna— December 21, 2007 #
In the States this movie is slated to open on 2/29 and I can’t wait!!!! I’m taking a half day off so that I can see this movie while the girls are at daycare. 🙂
Comment by Literate Housewife— December 27, 2007 #
[…] was so excited to begin reading this book. I loved The Other Boleyn Girl so much that I had to force myself to read other types of books before buying this one. The Boleyn […]
Pingback by #19 ~ The Boleyn Inheritance « The Literate Housewife Review— February 28, 2008 #
I only hope everyone knows this book – if you can call it that – is literally fiction, in that almost everything this vile “author” has written is false.
Does Mary sleep with the king? Yes. Does Anne marry Henry? Yes, and she does have Elizabeth, and she does get beheaded.
Is just about everything else false? You betcha.
If you want to be considered a “literate housewife,” please, read something that remotely resembles actual literature, vs. this tabloid-style, insanity-inducing repetitive trash.
Comment by Sally— March 12, 2008 #
Sally,
To each her own. The one great thing about being literate is that I can choose to read anything I want as I have the time and desire.
LH
Comment by Literate Housewife— March 12, 2008 #
Hey I am new to looking at this site but anyhow I have a aunt who is doing Research on ancestory, and just a couple weeks ago she found out that my sisters and I are decendents of Mary Boleyn, and also I saw the movie it was real interesting except the parts of the movie when Henry The 8th gets so out of control and does offul things, its so sad to think how wicked he was, he is quite a scarry person, but yep I am a decendent of Mary Boleyn and also I have been talking to people on Emmy Rossums website and one person wrote me and said shes a decendent of Mary Queen of Scots, witch is so cool, anyhow take care everyone
Comment by Marisa Radford— April 15, 2008 #
[…] be seeing and perhaps meeting Philippa Gregory. I’ve loved her ever since I started reading The Other Boleyn Girl. That book single-handedly redirected my reading habits and I couldn’t be more thankful […]
Pingback by Christmas Eve in September - I’m off to the National Book Festival « The Literate Housewife Review— September 26, 2008 #
[…] The Other Boleyn Girl 2) The Boleyn Inheritance 3) The Queen’s Fool 4) The Other Queen 5) The Constant Princess 6) […]
Pingback by #110 ~ The Other Queen « The Literate Housewife Review— October 19, 2008 #
[…] of the fact that I read it while at the beach. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who has read The Other Boleyn Girl and/or The Boleyn Inheritance. You will not be […]
Pingback by #26 Innocent Traitor : literatehousewife.com— February 2, 2009 #
[…] was so excited to begin reading this book. I loved The Other Boleyn Girl so much that I had to force myself to read other types of books before buying this one. The Boleyn […]
Pingback by 2007 April 19 : literatehousewife.com— February 2, 2009 #
[…] particularly as it relates to Henry the 8th and his clan. This all began with a single book: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. Since then, it’s been difficult for me to keep myself away from her novels […]
Pingback by Thank God I Was Seated : literatehousewife.com— July 5, 2011 #
[…] The Other Boleyn Girl was my introduction to modern historical fiction, Philippa Gregory, and my beloved Tudors. When I heard the news that a film based on TOBG was in the works, I was thrilled. It was a such a powerful read and I was hopeful that it would make a wonderful movie. […]
Pingback by A Royal Disaster?— January 9, 2012 #
[…] Philippa Gregory wrote about writing and reading historical fiction and the differences between her novel and the upcoming film rendition of The Other Boleyn Girl. If I gain nothing else from seeing the […]
Pingback by Gregory Discusses the Differences between Fiction and Film— January 9, 2012 #
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