Helpful Score: 1
Two sisters. One fair-haired and charmingly clueless, the other dark and utterly ruthless. One sister gentle and obedient, the other cruel and defiant. Sisters who were best friends and bitter rivals. These were the Boleyn sisters as written by Philippa Gregory.
In the beginning of this novel, Mary and Anne Boleyn are sisters serving King Henry VIII during his reign in England. Their uncle's desire to capture the favor and wealth of the King compels him to grasp at the King's fancy using any means necessary, especially his attractive nieces. After an initial fling with Mary, Henry VIII becomes increasingly enamored by Anne, whose seductive, tempestuous nature and single-minded determination to become queen, eventually ends a royal marriage, divides a church, and brings about her own catastrophic demise. With the assistance of her family (including Mary and brother George) but no thought for anybody but herself, Anne rises to become queen of England and then plummets to scandalous ruin in 661 pages.
This book was an entertaining read! Excitement, malice, suspicion, rivalry, and death pervaded the pages of this novel (told from the perspective of the other Boleyn sister, Mary). The wide castle halls were full of music and whispers, poetry and poison, love and betrayal. The King's reign came alive, and as the story unfolded I was filled with a passionate dislike for Anne. For 630 pages I watched as her conniving actions and clever little jests convinced a foolish King to divorce a faithful and loving wife. I read, appalled, as she betrayed every person who helped her claw her way to the throne (even her faithful sister) and yet somehow in the last 30 pages, even as she seemed to be getting exactly what she deserved, I felt sorry for Anne. And that's how I know this was a well-written novel. Gregory had me feeling the tumultuous emotions that are part of a complicated sibling relationship... exactly what I imagine Mary would have felt watching her sister's royal rise and fall from grace.
I was able to enjoy this book because I kept in mind that it is fiction. This novel may be loosely based on the facts surrounding Anne Boleyn's life, but the details are definitely the imagination of Philippa Gregory.
And she has quite the imagination.
In the beginning of this novel, Mary and Anne Boleyn are sisters serving King Henry VIII during his reign in England. Their uncle's desire to capture the favor and wealth of the King compels him to grasp at the King's fancy using any means necessary, especially his attractive nieces. After an initial fling with Mary, Henry VIII becomes increasingly enamored by Anne, whose seductive, tempestuous nature and single-minded determination to become queen, eventually ends a royal marriage, divides a church, and brings about her own catastrophic demise. With the assistance of her family (including Mary and brother George) but no thought for anybody but herself, Anne rises to become queen of England and then plummets to scandalous ruin in 661 pages.
This book was an entertaining read! Excitement, malice, suspicion, rivalry, and death pervaded the pages of this novel (told from the perspective of the other Boleyn sister, Mary). The wide castle halls were full of music and whispers, poetry and poison, love and betrayal. The King's reign came alive, and as the story unfolded I was filled with a passionate dislike for Anne. For 630 pages I watched as her conniving actions and clever little jests convinced a foolish King to divorce a faithful and loving wife. I read, appalled, as she betrayed every person who helped her claw her way to the throne (even her faithful sister) and yet somehow in the last 30 pages, even as she seemed to be getting exactly what she deserved, I felt sorry for Anne. And that's how I know this was a well-written novel. Gregory had me feeling the tumultuous emotions that are part of a complicated sibling relationship... exactly what I imagine Mary would have felt watching her sister's royal rise and fall from grace.
I was able to enjoy this book because I kept in mind that it is fiction. This novel may be loosely based on the facts surrounding Anne Boleyn's life, but the details are definitely the imagination of Philippa Gregory.
And she has quite the imagination.
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