The Other Boleyn Girl

Back in December, Lesley wrote a review of The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory. Shortly thereafter, Maureen mentioned how much she too enjoyed reading the same book. I made a mental note to read it but had already purchased the prequel, The Other Boleyn Girl from Target. I was recently invited to participate in a book club and low and behold, The Other Boleyn Girl was the pick of the month. I dusted the book off my TBR pile and sunk right into it.

 

As stated on the back of the book, The Other Boleyn Girl is the story of the rivalry of two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn. I knew (mostly from high school history class) a little about Henry VIII, but wouldn’t have been able to hold my own if a discussion came up about this historical time period. The book, while it is a work of fiction, did in fact glean from many non-fiction books written about King Henry and his court. 

Even though the book may look daunting at over 6oo pages, it really did grab me at the get-go and held my interest the entire time. It was one of those rare books that you feel you must share with your friends as soon as you have finished the last page. 

After meeting with the six other women for the book club last night, I realized that I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed this book. It lead to an interesting discussion of the role women played in the Tudor court and the relationship between the two sisters.

Needless to say, I am psyched about the movie they are making, to be released sometime later this year, which will star Natalie Portman as Anne and Scarlett Johannsen as Mary.

I am not one to purchase hard cover books often, so I will wait to read The Boleyn Inheritance until it is published in trade paperback this coming May. In the meantime, I picked up The Constant Princess, which is the story of Catalina, princess of Wales and of Spain, who eventually became Henry VIII first wife Queen Katherine. Kind of the prequel to The Other Boleyn Girl.

For another book review, this one on the topic of China adoptions, please stop by my adoption blog.

- Stephanie