The Other Boleyn Girl

I enjoyed this way more than The Queen's Fool, the only other Philippa Gregory I've read. Mary Boleyn felt like a fully fleshed character in a way that the other book's narrator never did. I still wasn't impressed though; I feel like there are plenty of other treatments of the era and people that are better done however.

I suspect I will not be picking up any more of Ms. Gregory's book; there are too many awesome authors in the world for me to not be picky.

What can I say...weakness for historical fiction. Anyway, this one was certainly a page-turner. But, apparently Gregory's interpretations of the confirmable history of Anne Boleyn are occasionally a little wild, and I figured that out (thanks, Wikipedia!) after feeling like some of the plot twists were just flat out implausible. However, adultery, incest, homosexuality–you want it, this book has it.

Not really knowing what this story was going in, I really hated it for about the first quarter. The only thing that kept me going besides a morbid curiosity was Gregory's talent for storytelling. She made it fun to read about one of the most sickening political environments I have ever heard of. That takes talent.

The story follows Mary Boleyn from just after she's married at about twelve years old, all through the ups and downs of her life, which for much of it, was barely her own. Taken from her marriage bed to be flaunted before and then bedded by the king, then to be cast aside for her sister, reunite with her cuckolded husband who the gets sick and dies, and finally to find true love. She manages to barely get through the sludge of court and come out happy and with her three children.

It's a heartbreaking story of what can happen to family, love, and sanity when an entire country is dancing to the whims of a vain, power-crazed tyrant. At the same time, a beautiful story of a woman's love for her children and the man she finally comes to love protecting and loving her as a husband should.