On My Bedside {The Other Boleyn Girl}

When Mother and I cruised together with the boys in February, she was reading The Other Boleyn Girl and literally could not put it down.  I kept willing her to finish it for two reasons: 1) so we could go do something fun and 2) so I could take my turn at reading it.  :-)  She finished up right at the end of our trip and I started it soon after.  Just a few pages in and I knew exactly why she was obsessed.  It is a page turner!

Now, I do realize we might be the last two people on the planet to read The Other Boleyn girl.  In the event that there is at least one other person out there, here’s the official synopsis…

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.

I’ve been on a historical fiction binge lately and cannot wait to read the next books in the series.  I always find myself fascinated and shocked at the ways people lived long, long before my time.

I would love to know what is on YOUR bedside these days!

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4 thoughts on “On My Bedside {The Other Boleyn Girl}

  1. If you enjoy historical fiction and haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend the Outlander series!

  2. Love the book and you most watch the movie, it’s great!!! Natalie Portmann and Scarlett Johansson play the sisters, its fantastic!! Have a good weekend :-)
    Lindsey

  3. I agree with Sarah-The Outlander series is amazing. It is also an incredible show on STARZ.
    I Read The Other Bolyn girl years ago and loved it. Can I also tell you that I just finished America’s First Daughter and it was one of the best historical novels I’ve ever read!! I’ve been recommending it to everyone!! Thank you so much for suggesting it, I’m starting the Eliza Hamilton one tomorrow and I’m hoping it is just as much of a page turner?.

  4. I highly recommend the Celtic Broach series. It is well written & I have absolutely loved it. I am also a fan of Outlander and the show is amazing. Have followed your blog for years. Thanks for your posts. I used to live in Memphis but live with my husband & 3 kiddos (ages 13, 11 & 9 – you made a book for my daughter who was Matilda in the Musical) in Manhattan now. Will send you our favs soon. – Hope

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