The Other Boleyn Girl (pc)
Registered by tho on 1/29/2004
4 journalers for this copy...
One of the best historical novels I've ever read ..
It was the first Philippa Gregory book for me, but soon after I finished this one I went out to purchase most of her collection :-)
This was one of those books I could not put down .. The story of Mary, Anne and brother George Boleyn and their life at court is so well written that you could almost believe this was exactly how it happened.
Review from amazon.com: (from Publishers Weekly)
Sisterly rivalry is the basis of this fresh, wonderfully vivid retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn. Anne, her sister Mary and their brother George are all brought to the king's court at a young age, as players in their uncle's plans to advance the family's fortunes. Mary, the sweet, blond sister, wins King Henry VIII's favor when she is barely 14 and already married to one of his courtiers. Their affair lasts several years, and she gives Henry a daughter and a son. But her dark, clever, scheming sister, Anne, insinuates herself into Henry's graces, styling herself as his adviser and confidant. Soon she displaces Mary as his lover and begins her machinations to rid him of his wife, Katherine of Aragon. This is only the beginning of the intrigue that Gregory so handily chronicles, capturing beautifully the mingled hate and nearly incestuous love Anne, Mary and George ("kin and enemies all at once") feel for each other and the toll their family's ambition takes on them. Mary, the story's narrator, is the most sympathetic of the siblings, but even she is twisted by the demands of power and status; charming George, an able plotter, finally brings disaster on his own head by falling in love with a male courtier. Anne, most tormented of all, is ruthless in her drive to become queen, and then to give Henry a male heir. Rather than settling for a picturesque rendering of court life, Gregory conveys its claustrophobic, all-consuming nature with consummate skill. In the end, Anne's famous, tragic end is offset by Mary's happier fate, but the self-defeating folly of the quest for power lingers longest in the reader's mind.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
It was the first Philippa Gregory book for me, but soon after I finished this one I went out to purchase most of her collection :-)
This was one of those books I could not put down .. The story of Mary, Anne and brother George Boleyn and their life at court is so well written that you could almost believe this was exactly how it happened.
Review from amazon.com: (from Publishers Weekly)
Sisterly rivalry is the basis of this fresh, wonderfully vivid retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn. Anne, her sister Mary and their brother George are all brought to the king's court at a young age, as players in their uncle's plans to advance the family's fortunes. Mary, the sweet, blond sister, wins King Henry VIII's favor when she is barely 14 and already married to one of his courtiers. Their affair lasts several years, and she gives Henry a daughter and a son. But her dark, clever, scheming sister, Anne, insinuates herself into Henry's graces, styling herself as his adviser and confidant. Soon she displaces Mary as his lover and begins her machinations to rid him of his wife, Katherine of Aragon. This is only the beginning of the intrigue that Gregory so handily chronicles, capturing beautifully the mingled hate and nearly incestuous love Anne, Mary and George ("kin and enemies all at once") feel for each other and the toll their family's ambition takes on them. Mary, the story's narrator, is the most sympathetic of the siblings, but even she is twisted by the demands of power and status; charming George, an able plotter, finally brings disaster on his own head by falling in love with a male courtier. Anne, most tormented of all, is ruthless in her drive to become queen, and then to give Henry a male heir. Rather than settling for a picturesque rendering of court life, Gregory conveys its claustrophobic, all-consuming nature with consummate skill. In the end, Anne's famous, tragic end is offset by Mary's happier fate, but the self-defeating folly of the quest for power lingers longest in the reader's mind.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
I received the book at the BC Meeting. Will read it ASAP!
Just finished it, after three days of intensive reading on the beach! Very interesting indeed, even if sometimes the story could be resumed a bit more. I like particularly the portrait of life at court with all the games and intrigues for power, the way the people are nothing but a name and a puppet in a family.
A very good book about history. I will start the other one, The Queen's Fool, very soon.
Received this some days ago, but only remembered to journal it today. I'm planning to have this as my next read.
To be returned to tho afterwards.
To be returned to tho afterwards.
So, it took me a while to read this book cause it IS long and I haven't had that much free time.
I really enjoyed reading the story of Mary, Anne and George. I could have read even more about Anne - it seems that her life was only meaningful as long as her sister was by her side...
The story is indeed vividly described and much better than the other book from Philippa Grgory I've already read (The Virgin's Lover)!
This is going tomorrow to meet Fflloorr :)
I really enjoyed reading the story of Mary, Anne and George. I could have read even more about Anne - it seems that her life was only meaningful as long as her sister was by her side...
The story is indeed vividly described and much better than the other book from Philippa Grgory I've already read (The Virgin's Lover)!
This is going tomorrow to meet Fflloorr :)
I can´t believe this book has been on my TBR pile for two years now. How time goes by so fast.
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down.
I agree with all the previous reviews and strongly recommend this book to all the fans of historical novels.
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down.
I agree with all the previous reviews and strongly recommend this book to all the fans of historical novels.
