The Other Boleyn Girl (2001)

My first P. Gregory and my first medieval historical fiction read. There was no turning back. ( )

Gives a perspective of the court life and behaviors during the reign of Henry VIII which actually made me understand why he got his reputation as a womanizer. Good reading of the rivalry between Mary as mistress only because her family insisted and her overbearing sister Anne. Henry really seemed to care for Queen Katherine. Having the queen stuck in a room for months before birth made me wonder if that helped in the death of so many babies when farmer wives could still stay active. The Boleyn family was so cruel to women, their mother was so cold. Mary changed from total awe and love for a king to realizing what life as a pawn for her family had done to her. Glad she got a better life in the end. Her brother George seemed a bit strange then we find out why at the end. ( )

This was as good as I remember it.
Let me be clear right from the beginning that despite the author's advanced degrees this is NOT based on actual history. The real people represented in this story did not behave or feel ANYTHING like the fictional characters in this story.
That said, this works. Ironically this works precisely because of real history, lol. This gossipy, juicy, fast paced novel is the best novel in this series. The seamless blending of real characters and invented toxic storylines is explosive.
This is the book that started my interest in and study of european monarchies. I always thought such history was boring but I was really wrong. Truth is truly more interesting than fiction.
After I read the real history of this time period and understood just how much this story varied from the facts I was kinda irritated. I wasn't expecting it to be true but I didn't and continue to not appreciate the author's use of sexism in history to sell this story.
I read this a decade ago and sexist storyline and all, it holds up well. ( )

It was an enjoyable read but could have been better had the historical facts been accurate. ( )

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. ( )