Fabulous historical novel set in the court of King Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn attracts the attention of the young king and becomes his mistress; when he tires of her, she sets out to school her sister, Anne, as a replacement. Politics and passion are inextricably bound together in this compelling drama. The Boleyn family is keen to rise through the ranks of society, and what better way to attract the attention of the most powerful in the land than to place their most beautiful young woman at court? But Mary becomes ...
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Fabulous historical novel set in the court of King Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn attracts the attention of the young king and becomes his mistress; when he tires of her, she sets out to school her sister, Anne, as a replacement. Politics and passion are inextricably bound together in this compelling drama. The Boleyn family is keen to rise through the ranks of society, and what better way to attract the attention of the most powerful in the land than to place their most beautiful young woman at court? But Mary becomes the king's mistress at a time of change. He needs his personal pleasures, but he also needs an heir. The unthinkable happens and the course of English history is irrevocably changed. For the women at the heart of the storm, they have only one weapon; and when it's no longer enough to be the mistress, Mary must groom her younger sister in the ways of the king. What happens next is common knowedge - but here it is told in a way we've never heard it before, with all of Philippa Gregory's characteristic perceptiveness, backed by meticulous research and superb storytelling skills.
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I really enjoyed this book --
Loved Gregory's writing style --
Although there were many liberties taken with historical
facts, I still found this read gave me a bit of insight into
the whole Henry, Anne, Mary, Boleyn, Seymour "thing"--
Alexandra D
Jun 16, 2011
Smart and Captivating
Very well-written. Seems historically sound. It draws you in and is hard to put down. The novel is truly shocking at times as you believe these are well bred ladies and gentlemen who do no wrong...not always the case.
LizaL33
May 8, 2008
Read this book, skip the movie
I read this book because I was interested in seeing the movie, but didn't get to it while it was in the theaters. Now I realize I liked the book enough that the film is sure to be a disappointment. The depiction of Henry VIII here is pretty accurate to other portrayals of him that I have read. Henry is petty, childish, and selfish--a completely unlikable person.
A fun read overall. It gave me a hankering for more historical fiction, so I plan to check out a few of Ms. Gregory's other books in the Tudors series.
KayleesNana
Apr 10, 2008
I loved this book!!
I thought the book stayed close to historical fact, and loved that it shed light on another facet of the Henry /Anne relationship. It brought the characters to life, made them be real people instead of jst "historical" figures!!
Brynne
Mar 11, 2008
Wow
I picked the book up out of curiosity created over the film. Couldn't put it down until I was finished. You know the people -- you know their end -- the best part is the tale the Phillipa Gregory spins to get you from point A to point B. Awesome historical fiction!