Book review of The Other Boleyn Girl, an historical fiction novel set in Tudor England by Philippa Gregory.
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Synopsis
This book follows Mary, sister of Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII’s second wife). Mary is lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon when she catches the king’s eye. Her ambitious and overbearing uncle sees an opportunity and quickly removes Mary from her husband’s household. Before long, she is in the king’s bed advancing her family’s fortunes.
After she has borne him a daughter and a son, Henry’s attentions stray to Mary’s beautiful older sister, and Mary is ordered to help Anne catch the king. As always, she obeys, but then Anne falls out of favour and their entire family is put at risk.
Review
Like Philippa Gregory’s other Plantagenet/Tudor books, The Other Boleyn Girl is heavy reading with many historical tidbits. Generally, I find that Philippa Gregory sticks to the historical record, but also goes along with whatever current theories happen to be popular. When reading this book, you do have to keep in mind that it is a novel, and as such is not historically perfect.
I loved the relationship between Mary and William Stafford. William was obviously able to give her the kind of life she wanted but couldn’t have being at court all the time. I really admire Mary’s strength in standing up to her uncle and leaving her family with William. I’ve come across Thomas Howard before and he was clearly a Horrible Man.
“Who d’you think is hearing the evidence against these men? Who will be president of the court against your brother? Your own uncle! Does he use his influence to save him? Does your father? No.”
Most of The Other Boleyn Girl is written from Mary’s POV. This makes some of the characters seem one-sided. For example, Catherine of Aragon is portrayed as an older woman/role-model who can do nothing bad.
The exception to this is Mary’s brother and sister. Mary has a real love/hate relationship with George and Anne. She loves them both dearly, but is often jealous of or frustrated at them. Like when Anne denies Mary permission to see her children, Mary hates Anne.
That being said, this book didn’t push sympathy for Anne Boleyn under the reader’s nose. Many people see Anne as a victim, and she is usually portrayed as one. The Other Boleyn Girl shows her doing some questionable things but also as a victim who had few choices and did what she was pushed to.
Conclusion
Have you read The Other Boleyn Girl? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
If you haven’t, you can buy it at Book Depository (they have free international shipping!) or Waterstones (free delivery on UK orders over £25, will ship internationally).
Have you seen the movie adaptation of this book? Fascinated to know how you’d think the two compare.
I watched the movie a couple of years ago. I really should watch it again and do a comparison post. Thanks for the idea.