Tagged: anne boleyn
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
(Cover picture courtesy of Barnes & Noble.)
When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.
A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.
First off, I don’t like the portrayals of pretty much any of the characters in this novel. Mary Boleyn was sweet and innocent to the point of being nauseating when in fact she very likely was the mistress of the French king before coming to court in England. As for Anne Boleyn herself (and don’t kid yourself, this book is really about her) she’s awful. Truly awful. Yes, we have accounts of her temper with Henry in later years, but was it truly to the extent Philippa Gregory tries to portray in this novel? Probably not because she was a very educated, well-spoken and by all accounts, charming young woman. As for George Boleyn and the homosexual ring around him those claims weren’t even really believed at the time and are laughed at by most historians these days.
As a lot of people mention in their reviews, this book plays with the facts constantly. Even if I ignored all of the historical inaccuracies (which is hard to do as they’re always present), the story itself collapses. Mary is just a spineless wimp all the way through the book, even at the end when she finally marries for love. Her relationship with Henry was pretty unrealistic and I hated the whole Machiavellian schemes her family went through to maneuver her into the position of king’s mistress. It was just unrealistic and more than a little ridiculous, even when I pretended I was just reading another fantasy book based loosely on history and not historical fiction.
The plot was unbearably slow, even for me. What could have been around a 300 page book was stretched out over 600 pages. I mean, really? I don’t need to know every single detail of Mary Boleyn’s life, especially the boring times when she was nowhere near court. Honestly, the 1000+ page books of Colleen McCullough have far more action in them than The Other Boleyn Girl. It’s not even guilty pleasure because finishing this was a chore. There were so many better ways to approach this, but throwing out the history and making Mary Boleyn ridiculously innocent was not the way to go.
In the end, The Other Boleyn Girl is for people who think soap operas are serious, not guilty pleasure. If you enjoy descriptions of multiple debaucheries, back-stabbing and playing fast and loose with historical fact, you might like this novel. If you can get past the navel-gazing introspection, that is.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of LIBR 265-10.)
Mary Tudor is a beautiful young princess in a grand palace filled with servants. She is accustomed to sparkling jewels, beautiful gowns, and lavish parties. Then, suddenly, she is banished by her father, King Henry VIII, to live in a cold, lonely place without money, new clothes, or even her mother.
At first it seems like a terrible mistake. Even when her father has a public and humiliating affair with a bewitching woman, Mary remains hopeful. But when he abandons her mother, marries his mistress, and has a child with her, Mary begins to lose faith. And now, dressed in rags, she is summoned back to the palace to be a serving maid to her new baby sister.
Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII, is a servant in her own home.
Believe it or not, it’s all true.
Mary Tudor has a bad reputation—quite deservedly so—but in the end she is the product of her upbringing. Her extremely devout Catholicism, her fall from her father’s favour and the people she grew up around made for a potent mix once she finally ascended the throne. Mary, Bloody Mary tells the story of her childhood at hints at the Queen she would become.
Since Carolyn Meyer tells the story of Mary’s youth, before she started persecuting ‘heretics’, she is a very sympathetic character. Readers will feel the agony of her fall, the ecstasy of her triumphs and the very real danger she was in during the rise of Anne Boleyn. Since she also deals with issues teenage girls today do, her story is still relevant. Her struggle to be accepted by her father and her longing for the mother she’s forbidden to contact is especially relevant to young adults.
Brought up in this kind of dysfunctional family environment changes Mary, but it also adds more tension to the plot. That makes for a much more interesting, if not faster, plot. Of course all of the historical details are much more important than a fast plot and Carolyn Meyer will teach young readers history in an enjoyable manner.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Doomed Queen Anne by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Fictional Appearances By…)
Anne Boleyn was born without great beauty, wealth, or title, but she’s blossomed into a captivating young woman—and she knows it. Determined to rise to the top, she uses her wiles to win the heart of England’s most powerful man, King Henry VIII. Not satisfied with the King’s heart, however, she persuades Henry to defy everyone—including his own wife—to make her his new queen.
This engrossing novel tells Anne’s fascinating story in her own voice—from her life as an awkward girl to the dramatic moments leading up to her beheading.
I’ve always liked the story of Anne Boleyn, the woman whose ambition propelled her up to the greatest heights. Unfortunately, the higher you rise, the farther you have to fall. And, oh, did Anne Boleyn fall to the lowest of the low.
Doomed Queen Anne is the story of her rise and fall, told in journal form on the eve of her execution as she recounts the events that lead up to it. It begins at her unhappy childhood and comes around full circle, which always adds a tinge of sadness to the narrative. Carolyn Meyer is a masterful writer of historical fiction and sticks to the facts while telling this excellent story. She shows that the women history has assigned bad reputations to weren’t really all that bad and were perfectly human, meaning they had flaws just like us.
I believe the best example of this is when she writes about Anne’s childhood as the ill-favoured daughter, overshadowed by her beautiful, dazzling older sister, Mary. She was told she was ugly, but learned how to hide her flaws while emphasizing her better traits. This well developed backstory is what makes her a memorable character that most readers will be able to sympathize with.
The plot of Doomed Queen Anne is reasonably well paced and the entire novel is historically accurate, as far as I can tell. Carolyn Meyer is a very gifted writer and uses her talent to draw readers in to the backstabbing court of the Tudors and move the plot along to its inevitable, tragic conclusion. I would recommend this book for people 12+ because there are brief scenes of sexuality, but nothing more than what you would encounter at most movies aimed at tweens.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.