The Other Boleyn Girl: The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels

If you are looking for a fascinating, intriguing story this is the book for you. However, if you are a Tudor fan who insists on accuracy, you may not like this book. "The Other Boleyn Girl" is narrated by Mary Boleyn, the sister of the famous Anne. The two girls, one sweet and blonde and the other dark and ruthless, are used as pawns by their family to gain favor with the king-and thus gain prestige and wealth for the Boleyns. Mary, who is married, is forced to leave her husband when her family pushes her into King Henry's bed. She becomes the king's mistress, but truly loves him. Later in the story Anne ruthlessly destroys the life of the gracious, pious Queen Catherine in order to gain the throne-and uses witchcraft, poison, and incest to further her aims. Ms Gregory uses actual dates and happenings to build her story, and fills them in with speculation and fictitious events. This is not a book for you if you are a stickler for facts-but it is a fast-paced, gripping novel that makes the reader want to keep going to see what's next. I especially liked the book's glimpse into the Tudor court. Most people today have no idea of what it means to have your entire life revolve around the whim of someone who could either make you very fortunate-or put you to death. Courtiers were not just beautiful people who lounged around all day. They had to accompany the ruler EVERYWHERE, even if that meant dinners that went on past midnight, and then getting up for Mass or hunting at dawn. They had to gauge the king's every mood and adjust accordingly. A great job? I will leave that up to the reader.

The Other Boleyn Girl far exceeded my expectations, having seen the film of the same name, I wondered what to expect from the book. I was not disappointed. Far superior to the film. We know the work is a novel loosely based on some facts but nevertheless an entertaining read for all that. Highly recommended to lovers of Tudor history novels particularly the reign of Henry VIII.

Filled with charts that I like and really dislike and that brings me to the point of not sure how I feel about this book. I have always had an win Anne Boleyn but I never pictured her being this ugly as far as characteristics go. There is no way to feel sympathetic towards a character portrayed as being this deviant and immoral. I really don't know whether to recommend or not. Perhaps historical fiction is not my cup of tea

I can hardly put down these Plantagenet/Tudor novels! Ive blazed through 3 of them in a row and am having to force myself to read something else so that I can save some for later! Some of her books overlap the same time with the same characters but you get a completely different sense of story by reading it in a different characters point of view...SO GOOD!

I'm going to be upfront with readers of this review, I am not a very smart girl. So many of you giving negative reviews really know your Tudors' History. Everything I know about the Tudors stems from *cringe* the television show (love it), Wikipedia, and various other websites around the internet.But even I, with my very limited knowledge of Tudors History, was seriously annoyed with the mistakes in the book - especially when you consider how self serving they were to the picture perfect main character. I have never seen ANY historian claim (even on Wiki dang it!) that Mary was the younger of the sisters. If I remember right she was actually likely the eldest of the living Boelyn children. This makes sense considering that Mary was the first presented at court and the first married. As another reviewer said her being the youngest adds nothing to the storyline so why not just get it right? I think PG was trying to make Mary as innocent as possible and being just a young teenager made her more likeable to the reader perhaps. However pretty much everything I've read about Mary agrees on the fact that she had some miles on her (classy terminology FTW) when she arrived to the English court. I think the fact that she married someone who was generally deemed below Boelyn level is proof that this is true. It's pointed out how great the Boelyn/ Howard family a million times in this book and someone as pretty as Mary was said to be would have probably fetched a husband from an even better family...unless she had a bad reputation.In PG's mind sisters are apparently polar opposites. Since Mary is blonde, sweet, and shy, Anne is dark, vile, and loud. I have to say this author really does not seem to like Miss Anne Boelyn very much. This Anne is nasty to everyone, clever but somehow incredibly stupid at the same time, thinks negatively of everyone around her, and even tries to seduce her gay brother several times (what the heck?) in the book. Also, pretty much every thing that Anne was accused of, things that most historians agree are probably false and made up so she could be executed without much argument, are true in this novel. If a person only read this book and never anyhting else about Anne Boelyn they would not have a very good image of her, when in reality Anne was said to have done lots of nice things in her short reign as Queen of England.As I said before, I am not very smart. I do not usually pick up on misogynistic language and themes - even obvious ones (Snow White anybody?)- but in this book you're practically slapped across the face with it. Mary is quiet, shy, conventionally beautiful, listens to her male handlers (for the most part) and gives into the King's sexual desires as soon as he asks. She is rewarded with beautiful children, a loving husband, and a nice quiet life in the country (because being a farmer's wife in the 16th century was easy as churning butter I guess). Anne, on the other hand, is mean, agressive, sexual (while withholding herself from the king so as not to be another used and disgraced woman), and most of all DARES to think of herself as equal to or (le gasp!) better than the men in her life. No, these behaviors would have NOT been acceptable in Tudor England from a woman, but this book was written in the 21st century by a female author, no less. A little perspective please?So yes, go ahead and tell me that maybe I'm just too dumb to understand this novel, but I think i'll stick with other adaptions that don't take such a negative veiw of poor Anne.

I had heard a lot about Philippa Gregory's books,which I always thought were a bit expensive so when Amazon sent me an offer for the kindle books, I chose this one. Maybe the wrong choice, but as I have studied this period of history I thought it would give me a true view of the writing and facts. What a mistake I have made. The historical facts are incorrect and the story is something you would read in a tabloid newspaper. Sorry but I have had to give up on it, and will not be searching out Ms Gregory's books again. I do not mind a cleverly written "factional" book but this just goes to far. Pleased I waited for a cheap offer to try this writers books.

PG writes in such a wonderful style that if all this hadn't happened over 400 years ago you'd swear she'd actually been there and lived through and witnessed all the events she writes so authoritatively on!The long Christmas weekend and four days of family staying with me couldn't pass quickly enough for me to really get stuck in and again read this book in all its glory. I have all her hardbacks on the bookcases, but last year buying an Amazon Fire peaked my interest in her books all over again, so now I'm reading them all again on Kind!e - and loving them so much I object to having to put the book down to sleep!PG's writing keeps me gripped, her research combined with her incredible intelligence weaves the most magical story around the facts of history and, as I mentioned, you'd honestly think you were reading a first hand account of where she's been and what she's seen and heard. The worst part of her books is coming unexpectedly to the last page when you're totally intrigued by events and longing for more, and then avidly download the next book of the series to see what the monstrous Henry does next - the fact that we already know what he does next is irrelevant, you just want to read on.To live in the age of a monster with absolute power is something we none of us have to do, thank goodness. Tudor times always fascinated me as a child, then through my life, being so colourful and eventful, and PG brings them to life with zing.Do buy this book for an enthralling story of probably our most famous king - don't hesitate, if you saw the film believe me it certainly didn't do this book justice. A completely brilliant, fantastic book from the first word to the last.

You can always count on Philippa Gregory to write a compelling tale about an iconic royal woman and this is one of my favourite books of hers. How did Anne Boleyn come to marry Henry VIII? What happened to her sister who caught the king's eye first? What lengths did her family go to in order to ensure they were highly thought of in the royal court?Whether you watch the film or not, the book is a gripping tale of what might have been and what might have happened. Philippa always puts the women first and draws out their inner most thoughts, desires, hopes and fears. She takes the reader further than what might be expected with such iconic characters and makes them human again. We all think we know who Anne Boleyn was, but peel back the layers, meet her sister and her family and the full picture emerges.I think this is a fascinating way to immerse yourself in history and to experience this blend of fact and fiction as you get a real sense of the hopes and fears of each woman. This was a harsh world for many but for Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary, this was a game where they were but mere pawns.Shocking and thrilling in equal measure. There's so much detail and historical intrigue here. Recommended!

The book centres on the Boleyn sisters, Mary and her soon to be more famous Anne, and their lives in the court of Henry VIII.I loved this novel. The sheer amount of research undertaken by Philippa Gregory is astonishing. Gregory transports you to the Court of Henry VIII and we witness the alliances, strategies and calculating behaviour by families eager to secure the favour of the King. I loved learning about the Court, how Henry was paranoid about illness, the festivals and religious days and celebrations. All are described in beautiful detail.I truly loved this book and went on to read other books about the court of Henry VIII. This is why reading is truly wonderful. It can transport you to different places and times as well as peaking interest in any subject.

I have read the Constant Princess by the same author. Having found the book mostly interesting but a bit dull in parts, I saw this on offer and thought that I would give it a go. At the start of the book, the plot is enjoyable and interesting and throughout the novel, it is apparent that the author has done their research. However the plot throughout all of the 544 pages follows a very similar line and some parts are quite repetitive. This is in part as it follows a chronological structure and therefore the characters take part in very similar events in the court every year, with a scandal and a new mistress for the King, or another pregnancy for the Queen. By halfway through the book, I found this to have become boring and although I finished the novel, the rest of the book didn't hold my interest until the quickening of the plot in the last 30 or so pages. I wouldn't be enthusiastic to recommend this series, especially if you weren't extremely interested and captivated by the first book.