Boleyn Inheritance
CDN$ 6.33
Good read - This was the second this series that I have read. The Other Boleyn Girl was the first and the best, IMHO.This was a good read. Philippa Gregory is truly able to bring the characters and the time to life. I feel as if I too am at court, hearing the plots and schemes, and joining in everyone s revulsion of Henry.Very good book - 4 stars from me.
WHAT A LEGACY... - Once again, the author captures the imagination of the reader with another wonderful work of historical fiction. In this book, the author continues her Tudor saga, focusing on the events that occur upon the death of the Henry VIII s third Queen, Jane Seymour, after she gives birth to the King s long awaited son. When King Henry VIII decides to take yet another bride, all of Christendom is rocked, as all wonder who will be that most unlucky of brides. The events that follow are seen through the eyes of the three women who will play pivotal roles in all that transpires: Anne of Cleves, sister of the Duke of the Duchy of Cleves, and the woman who will bear the dubious honor of being wife number four, Katherine Howard, a beautiful teenager, the rose without a thorn who becomes wife number five to Henry VIII, but whose loose ways will cost her her head, and, last but certainly not least, the infamous Jane Boleyn, the former Lady Rochford, sister-in-law to the late Anne Boleyn, having been married to Anne s brother George, who met the same fate as his sister, thanks in part to his own wife s testimony. The story is propelled along by the first person narratives of each of the three protagonists. The author manages to give each of these pivotal women, Anne, Katherine, and Jane, a unique voice. Each narrative provides a piece of the story. Anne is the level headed narrator and the one that seems to be the most grounded. Jane is a grasping woman who will do whatever it takes to get that which she wants. It is through her narrative that the intrigues of the court manifest themselves. Katherine is a flighty, mercurial young miss, a typical teenager thrown into a den of lions. Surrounded by all manner of temptation, she is oblivious to the danger around her, caring only for her creature comforts. Yet, all three of these disparate women share a symbiotic relationship. This is an entertaining look at the Tudor court during a tumultuous time. It is well written work of historical fiction, though sometimes a tad repetitive and not quite as good as The Other Boleyn Girl. Still, it will not fail to entertain the reader. Fans of the author, as well as aficionados of the Tudor period, will thoroughly enjoy this book.
A Good Read - I really enjoyed this book, not to the extent I enjoyed The Other Boelyn Girl, but it was a good read. It is written in the perspective of 3 very different women (Jane Boelyn, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard), but they all have a common thread... trying to survive a life of uncertainty at the court of Henry VIII. Out of the three women I sympathized with the plight of Catherine, she was young, a very simple minded girl, in love with a boy her own age, pushed into the arms of an aging King by a family that never learned their lesson the first time(with Anne Boelyn). I really was indifferent to Anne of Cleves, however she did provide good insight into just how difficult it was to stay on the good side of the King. I found Jane Boelyn to be the most interesting of the 3. She will do anything to survive and thinks herself to be untouchable. Throughout her narrative you sense that she is losing grip on reality. Philippa Gregory gives you insight into these women and what they may have been feeling, as well as some great historical content.
A Great Sequel to The Other Boleyn Girl! - Philippa Gregory does her magic again, in this sequel to The Other Boleyn Girl. Her writing makes history come alive as she entrances her readers to hang on every morsel.I didn t enjoy this quite as much as The Other Boleyn Girl. I m not quite sure why, however, I was a bit annoyed with one of the central characters Jane Boleyn. In The other Boleyn Girl, she was portrayed as a big gossip who couldn t and chose not to keep her month shut about the going on s in the castle. In The Boleyn Inheritance she kept secrets and acted more proper. This just didn t seem in character for her.That said, I still highly recommend this sequel to Philippa Gregory fans!
She Does It Again! - I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I have read all the other Tudor era books by Phillipa Gregory and I was doubtful that she could still find enough material in this historical saga to match the previous books. But she does it indeed. What I love the most about Gregory as a writer is her capability to humanize a historical figure, transforming our preconceived ideas of those characters into believable - often fascinating - people, with which we can easily empathize. It does leave me wondering who she will portrait in her next book.