REVIEW: The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory)

Book: The Other Boleyn Girl

Author: Philippa Gregory

My rating: 3/5.

Premise: When Mary Boleyn is fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realises just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king and take fate into her own hands.

A lot of people complain that this book isn't historically accurate, so you have to take it with a (large) pinch of salt. The story follows Anne Boleyn's sister during the breakdown of Henry VIII's first marriage and his marriage with Anne. This is the 4th Philippa Gregory book covering the whole Katherine-Henry-Anne drama and I'm a bit bored of it. There's only so many different ways characters can be scandalised by this big event in history. That being said, this book was all about the role of women and how tenuous their positions were. You see them used to benefit their male relatives then discarded and abused when they're no longer needed. Mary grows through the book, starting off blindly obedient and then following her desires. Anne is decidedly vilified and her relationship with Mary is abusive. I was happy whenever Anne got her cumuppance but she didn't deserve the ending she had. I loved George and was sad with how he was treated. An entertaining read but I'm ready to move on!