2015 Book Review #38: The Other Boleyn Girl

[jethrien]

Title: The Other Boleyn Girl
Author: Philippa Gregory
Genre: Historical fiction
Thingummies: 4

Synopsis: Anne Boleyn obviously had a difficult life. But do you know who's life really sucked? Her sister. Who was Henry's mistress before Anne.

Thoughts: I've read a couple of fictionalizations of this time period, and it's fascinating seeing how different writers interpret the personalities involved from the source materials.

Still, poor Mary Boleyn. Her family forces her into being mistress to the king; then her sister waltzes in while she's pregnant with Henry's child (her second by him), refuses to sleep with him, and gets crowned Queen for her efforts. Still, given how Anne ends up, Mary may have gotten the better bargain in the end.

This novel's Anne is downright venomous, but that seems to be a fairly accepted interpretation. Mary is...not quite as swift. And rather compliant. But when you take a step back and remember the horrifying fact that this poor girl is being forced into basically being a married courtesan at the age of 14 (having been married off at 12), it's not as surprising. Actually, while Gregory does remind us of her age a couple of times, for the most part this is written as an adult rather than a child. Partially because she would have been considered an adult; partially because I suspect most modern audiences would be put off by a kid being repeatedly impregnated not-fully-by-her-own-will by the king.

But aside from the vague and anachronistic horror, it's a very engaging read. Mary is perhaps a little saintly--almost everything she does that's distasteful is forced upon her. But it's a well-researched (although with some controversial assertions) and very interesting view into the Tudor court.

Comments

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

He had one acknowledged bastard, Henry Fitzroy. Mary had two kids, a girl and a son, Henry Carey. In the book, both her kids are definitely Henry VII's. In real life, it's controversial. The daughter was right in the middle of the affair, but the son would have had to have been conceived right at the end. Henry VII never acknowledged either one as his. Weirdly, though, he took away guardianship from Mary and gave Henry Carey to Anne shortly before their marriage.