Search - The Other Boleyn Girl

This book is over 600 pages, but is a fascinating look at life in
King Henry VIII's court. The story is told from Anne Boleyn's sister, Mary's, viewpoint. Mary was also Henry's mistress. It is historical fiction, with the emphasis on fiction. There is no doubt some conjecture on the author's part, but it is still an interesting tale. My book club read it and everyone liked it except one person who knew history and felt it wasn't very accurate .

This was my first Philippa Gregory book, but it definitely won't be my last. I'm not usually a historical fiction reader, but this book had me hooked. Fact and fiction were so thoroughily interwoven that it was often hard to tell the difference. After reading it, I was even prompted to learn a little more about Henry VIII and his reign.

Fascinating look at the court of King Henry VIII. It made me go back and re-read some of the history of the era. As a novel, it kept me captured. I like that the story is told from the point of view of a woman most of us have never heard of before - Mary Boleyn, the sister of Henry's 2nd wife.

It took a really long time for me to get into this book, I guess because I never really liked or bonded with the main character. She isn't really a likeable person, neither is her family. The entire first half, I just wanted Anne to be queen so that we could move on from her stalking the king. Then once she was queen, I found that I was more interested in Jane becoming queen. Too bad there isn't a story about her...

Over all, an ok story. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood to read it right now.

Good Read

Huge book but never boring. There are interesting things happening every few pages. A lot of people dislike this because they say it isn't 100% historically accurate...maybe they missed the word "Fiction" printed on the book. It's not meant to be your history textbook. I suspect that if you do not know much about Henry VIII, this book will be more enjoyable.