The Other Boleyn Girl; Phillippa Gregory review

This book is from the point of view of Mary Boleyn, younger sister to Anne Boleyn and King Henry the VIII's mistress. It spans from a little after her marriage to William Carey to the deaths of her sister Anne and brother George.

In this take on the Boleyn family her first two children are Henry's (although they were never formally recognized as his children), and she is replaced by Anne according to her family's wishes and their desire to rise to power. In this story also George is portrayed as gay, and that he and Anne copulate in order to produce an heir for Henry (which ends badly, as the fetus is horribly deformed).

Firstly, I'd like to say that this isn't very historically accurate. There has been speculation about Mary's first two children being Henry's, and I can accept her second marriage being that of love (since she marries a commoner). I'm not so convinced about George being gay or that he and Anne attempted to have a child, or about the deformed fetus bit - it was a still birth, and they were able to tell it was a boy (and I've never heard it was deformed or anything of the like).

That being said, I don't read Phillippa Gregory's books for their historical accuracy, but for the story being told. She's a wonderful story teller, and I was enchanted by the tale from start to finish. I wouldn't come to this text to learn facts, but it is a good read, especially if you do already know the facts.
/ [Akayume]

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