If you have watched The Tudors on Showtime or have ever studied the reign of King Henry VIII then you know the general idea of the story/history. This book focuses on Henry's relationship with the infamous Anne Boleyn, starting with her families obsession to gain power in Court and ending (no spoilers here hopefully) at the chopping block. Philippa Gregory takes historical fact and fills in the shady bits with fiction; on her website she says "By and large the fiction fills in the gaps of the known historical record and brings it to life". So the fiction part is what makes the story so interesting, spicy, and new. In TOBG you are hearing the tale of Anne through the eyes of her sister Mary. Mary is little known in history but she is said to have born one or two of Henry's bastard children (a son no less), and she was quite in love with Henry for a short time until his eyes drifted to her sister Anne. Then Mary has to play a key roll in Anne's climb to be the Queen of England and then to keep her there while Henry's ever roaming eyes wander to a multitude of other ladies at Court.
Gregory's writing is amazing. This lady has a way with words (this is why she is my most favorite author), everything that Gregory writes is a true work of art. I almost always recommend one of her works to anyone that asks me for a good read.
Book vs. Movie: I do have to say though that TOBG movie was quite disappointing (as are most books turned movie). It was fun to see the beautiful clothes and riches but the screen play fell extremely short of the actual book.
The Other Boleyn Girl By Philippa Gregory
ISBN: 0-7432-2744-1
ISBN: 0-7432-2744-1
If you enjoyed this book, please read: The Wideacre Trilogy by Philippa Gregory
I liked this book, it was really good. Although my favorite would be The Constant Princess. I hated the movie version of TOBG! OMG it was awful.
ReplyDeleteIt is so funny how people have such different tastes even in a series! I liked The Constant Princess but didn't at all love it. TOBG was my fave closely followed by The Boleyn Inheritance.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the comment!
I loved this book too! Have you read The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George? AMAZING! I think besides this one, my favorite Philippa Gregory books are The Constant Princess, The Boleyn Inheritance and The Queen's Fool. Can't wait to read her new one! I haven't read her Wideacre trilogy either, maybe I'll check those out.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I couldn't read it. That book is so historically wrong. lol. No offense to those who love it.
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