Rating: 
Summary: A quality read -- and solidly researched
Review: I'm glad so many readers appreciate this book's terrific pacing and riveting narrative. Anne Boleyn's rise and fall is one of the great, intriguing stories of English history, and Philippa Gregory does it ample justice. An extra spin and spice is gained by viewing events through the eyes of Mary, Anne's sister and predecessor in sexual intrigue with Henry VIII. Gregory's portrayal of life in an ambitious, rapacious family is vivid and chilling. Mary Boleyn is ambivalent about the costs of her family's high ambition but absolutely vulnerable to its every demand. It says much about Gregory's persuasiveness as a storyteller that Mary remains a sympathetic figure even as she participates in schemes that run counter to her own conscience. Regarding the assertions that Gregory gets her historical facts wrong, it should be noted that recent scholarship does indeed place Anne as the elder sister and Mary the younger (the birth order used by Gregory). There is no contemporary record as to when either Boleyn girl was born. However, the family's decision to send Anne -- not Mary -- to be educated abroad at the court of Margaret, regent of the Netherlands, is cited by recent biographers as important evidence that Anne must have been the elder sister: "By contemporary custom, the younger child would not have been favored with such a splendid opportunity to the detriment of her older sister..." (Anne later spent additional time abroad at the court of France.) Mary Boleyn was the first sister married, something that would normally indicate she was the elder sister. But Anne was still abroad at the time, and her family may have been hoping for a more splendid match for her with a European nobleman. There is also evidence that the Boleyns were trying (ultimately without success) to betroth Anne to the heir of the earl of Ormond. Both circumstances would explain why they were willing to defer the marriage of an elder daughter and go ahead with an advantageous, though not as splendid, union for their younger girl. These observations come from Retha Warnicke's scholarly study of Anne's life, which Gregory cites as one of her major sources. Sorry if I made eyes glaze over with all this, but it really is unfair to assert that Gregory (whose books are in general distinguished by careful craftmanship) fouled up her facts or distorted them for the sake of a better story. She definitely makes artful conjectures -- impossible to avoid with subjects of whom very few hard facts are known. But her conjectures fall within a solid historical framework. If you enjoyed Gregory's fluid, page-turning touch in this book, take a look at some of her other historical fiction, such as her "Wideacre" trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book, with reservations
Review: Personally, I think the story of the Boleyn girls and Henry VIII is dramatic enough on its own and doesn't require the added fictionalized details to make the story better, but this was still an interesting book. I agree with the another reviewer who remarked that if you take away the Tudor setting, Gregory is not all that different from your standard romance novelist. Mary was an interesting choice as narrator, but too many times I found myself wanting to smack her for her behavior. Somewhere around mid-book, she evolves into some sort of beloved saint; whether that's true or not, I don't know, but it didn't endear Mary the character to me. Anne, originally a complex and flawed woman becomes a shrieking cariacature by the book's end. When she finally loses her head, it's almost anti-climactic. Given her portrayal, you want something worse to happen. Aside from the birth order debate, there are some other small inconsistencies, like the spelling of Mary's daughter's name and the ambiguity surrounding her son's parentage and where he ends up. Would Henry VIII really allow his second son to just trot off to a farm with another man playing daddy? It was a point that bothered me throughout this book; Henry was desperate for sons and I found his complete dismissal of Mary's son to be odd. Historically, Mary did marry William for love and they did go on to live relatively happily ever after. Sadly, for me, Gregory lapsed back into romance novel-speak in that last part of the book. The language was so flowery, the situations so improbable that I had a hard time finishing this book. There was no evidence that I've ever read that Catherine/Katherine was present with Anne at her beheading, and the notion that some guy on the street would be allowed up on the scaffold to haul one of the ladies in waiting away was simply ridiculous. The story could have been told just as dramatically without those devices. All in all, this is a very good book and full enough of historical accuracy that I'd recommend it on that basis alone. I would, however, also recommend one of the excellent non-fiction books on Henry VIII and his wives as an accompaniment to put some of the events of this story into true perspective (Alison Weir's book is especially good and easy to read).
Rating:
Summary: A Romantic Tudor Tale...
Review: I personally loved this book.It took the live of Mary Boleyn (a little known figure in Tudor history) and while perserving historical accurateness Gregory painted a tale of young woman caught up in the glitz and glamor of the Tudor court while juggling her feelings of love for a young but married king. I couldn't put this book down for a moment...
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Period Fiction
Review: Everyone knows the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, but this book brings these characters to life & puts a whole new perspective on this age old tale. Mary Boleyn, like her sister Anne and brother George, has spent virtually her entire life in the Royal Court, and the siblings are well educated on how to mask their inner emotions and desires with a courtiere's smile. Dominated by an ambitious uncle, they are each directed to play roles that will advance the family's status. After Mary's relatively brief affair with King Henry VIII, she is supplanted by her sister Anne, and Mary is reunited with the husband she had been married to, but separated from, since she was 12 years old. After his sudden death from disease, she meets and falls in love with a man of whom her family would never approve. Eventually, as things slowly start to disintegrate for her sister Anne, Mary finally finds the courage to separate herself from her family and leave the royal court behind to join the man she has married for love. I love reading a good historical novel, and this book was no exception. Philippa Gregory does a fantastic job of developing characters, setting, and plot to keep the reader engaged from beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: MARY VS. ANNE
Review: Historical Fiction fanatics (I'm one) love to split the hairs on the accuracy of the various books they read. It's almost as if they live for the sleuthing of gaffs and I've been guilty of that myself, but I'm trying to get better. Alison Weir, the notable Tudor historian - and credited source - for this book has described Mary Boleyn (my words) as a rather loose and promiscuous individual, especially during her stay at the French Court. Gregory, however, paints her as a virtuous girl thrust into the Tudor court by the political ambitions of her family. The reason for this liberal change of personality seems to be only to draw a starker difference between Anne and Mary. The central plot line still involves Anne Boleyn and her obsessive rise to the top, and only uses Mary the voice of the narrative. Gregory does not paint a very pretty picture of Anne and at times I felt that Anne was rather two-dimensional, and incapable of any real tenderness. This is okay I suppose, but Gregory keeps pounding the point to show the stark differences between Mary THE GOOD, and Anne THE BAD...a little heavy handed, but since Gregory is such a good writer it does not pull you from the story. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys this subject and has a small working knowledge of who the Boleyn's were - especially Anne. One other minor historical difference is that Mary was actually Anne's older sister, not younger. If you're interested in the subject, but don't have a good resource book - try Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII - a good place to start. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: All in all, a great read...
Review: ...though it does have it's fair share of historical inaccuracies. More romance than historical ficion, I'd say, but an amazing book nonetheless. The characters are well-rounded and engaging, the plot enthralling. It's a little slow-paced, but satisfying in the end. A different, refreshing take on the life of Anne Boleyn through the eyes of her sister. Any Tudor fan will appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Historical Fiction
Review: The Other Boleyn Girl, is hands down the best piece of historical fiction I have ever read. Upon reading it, I have been searching for other books of its genre and subject matter to delve into. Gregory made these characters come alive for me, and made me understand how difficult it was to live as a woman in the early 1500s. Mary was especially well crafted. At 13 years old she went from her forced marriage to being thrown into the King's arms as his mistress. The inner struggles she fought between being true to herself and her heart, or true to her family were especially poignant. Anne Boleyn, the most famous and tragically terminated sister, is portrayed in such a venomous way. She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted, and to rise in power and prestige. In the end it killed her. But her character, as portrayed by Ms. Gregory, was compelling and convincingly ugly, despite her beauty. King Henry VIII also jumped off the pages. He came off as a spoiled brat, even as he grew older, who always got what he wanted. He and Anne were well matched for each other as no level of deceipt was too high. Ms. Gregory was brilliant in choosing Mary as the narrator of this book. In doing so, the manipulative and scheming nature of Anne was able to come alive, as was the unorthodox lifestyle chosen by George Boleyn, the brother. The relationship amongst the Boleyn siblings, in and of itself, could fill a novel. The complexities of a family struggling to maintain individual identities, while working to bring the family up to the highest level of stature is intense. This book is a page turner; it is incredibly compelling, deep and fascinating. I learned a great deal about the monarchy of Henry VII as well as life in the court during that time period. At the same time, I found myself incredibly entertained and saddened when I reached the last page. I cannot wait for more from Ms. Gregory.
Rating:
Summary: a fascinating and enthralling read
Review: I had more or less given up reading historical novels when I ran out of books by Jean Plaidy to read. For me, she was one of the truly rare authours (saving Sharon Kay Penman of course) who got the feel, tone and character of her subject matter right. So that I had more or less stopped looking out for new books in this genre to read. And then I saw "The Other Boleyn Girl" at my local bookstore, and after sampling the first chapter, I realized that I had to buy this book. And I'm awfully glad that I did. What a simply wonderful read!! Phillipa Gregory did a really splendid job of evoking the splendor and turbulence of Henry VIII's court. I also thought that her choice of narrator, Mary Boleyn (the elder of the Boleyn sisters) was an inspired as well. Most historians (and perhaps I've only read the those that espoused this majority view) tend to dismiss Mary as an empty headed good time girl because she was used and cast aside with very little ceremony; and because she never rose as high as her sister, Anne. But you have to wonder: Mary was also the only Boleyn sibling to survive the vicissitudes of Henry VIII's reign, and the fall of the Howard-Boleyn fortunes; she also managed to marry for love (and a happy and lasting marriage it proved to be too) the second time around. So perhaps there was a lot more to the 'other Boleyn girl' than everyone credits? Gregory's novel opens and closes with two executions -- it begins with the execution of the Duke of Buckingham in 1521, and ends with the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536. With this rather grim events framing her book, the novel proper starts in 1522, with Anne arrival at the Tudor court, where her elder sister, Mary, is already lady-in-waiting to Henry's wife, Queen Katherine. From the very beginning we see that while there is a bond that ties the Boleyn sisters together, there is also a deep rooted rivalry between them. It is a tense time at court: the queen (already quite a few years older than her husband) has yet to produce a male heir to the throne, and people are beginning to question if the aging queen will ever be able to bear children again. Some of Henry's advisers are even began to gently hint that he should put his Spanish wife aside and look for a younger more fecund wife. In the midst of all this intrigue, Mary soon catches the king's roving eye. Although she is married and still quite loyal to the queen, her family (her ruthless parents as well as her uncle, the powerful and equally ruthless Duke of Howard) decrees that she put her marriage and loyalties aside and cater to the whims of her king. Bedazzled, it doesn't take Mary very long to fall in love with both her golden king and her role as the his 'unofficial' wife. A few years and two royal by-blows later however, Mary is shunted aside when the king begins to loose interest in their relationship and her ambitious family fearful that they will loose all the power that they have gained, throws the more ruthless and seductive sister, Anne at the king's head. From then on Mary, her eyes finally wide open as to how low her family will stoop in order to gain power, watches from the sidelines as her family, led by Anne, begins their high stakes play for the queen's crown. Finally realizing that she can only depend on herself for her own future, Mary is inspired to take a few risks herself in order to gain some measure of happiness and security. The sheer scope of this novel is gigantic -- there were so many things that were going on both on and off stage and the number of people that were involved in all these shenanigans! So that it was a treat to find that the novel unfolded smoothly and effortlessly, and that Gregory did not drop the ball once. She kept each chapter short and succinct, and yet still managed to give the reader an enthralling and exciting account of what was going on. I also liked the manner in which she depicted all the characters in this novel. From Queen Katherine who was portrayed not only as a loyal and loving wife, but also as an intelligent woman who saw and understood what was going on around her, even as she clung to the hope that the king would recover from his obsession with Anne; to the authour's chilling portrayal of the Boleyn family (father, mother, Anne and George). With a few well chosen words and phrases, she's paints them as wildly ambitious, ruthless and pettily cruel individuals, willing to use each other in order to achieve a particular goal. But the authour's characterization of Mary Boleyn was probably the best thing in the novel. Here we see a young and intelligent woman with a heart and a sense of morality that is constantly at war with her feeling of familial obligations. How Mary struggles with this dueling feelings and the decisions she makes -- sometimes good, sometimes bad -- is what makes this novel worth reading. All in all, I'd say "The Other Boleyn Girl" is a rich and rewarding read.
Rating:
Summary: Intrigue in the Tudor Courts
Review: With just a little too much romance to be historical novels and far too much history to be romance novels, Philippa Gregory defies categories in her two immensely readable and wonderfully informative stories of 16th century England: "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Queen's Fool." That she is able to saturate her novels with history is less surprising when one realizes that she has a history degree from the University of Sussex and a PhD in eighteenth-century literature from the University of Edinburgh, but that she is able to bring history to life with such apparent ease and without breaking the rhythm of her narrative is most impressive. Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, narrates the first, chronologically, of these two books: "The Other Boleyn Girl." She is Henry VIII's mistress and bears him two children before her more famous sister, Anne, usurps her place. Historically, that is fact, at least the first part is. Whether Anne actually connived to unseat her sister is less clear, though Gregory certainly gives a convincing case of "what-if?" Beginning with Henry's attentions to Mary, the story continues through a rumble of bedding, wedding, and ultimately Anne's beheading. Along the way Gregory paints a picture of a court in which everyone must look over his shoulder constantly, marriages are made for convenience and political alliances, and men, whether father, brother or husband, control women and use them as pawns in a risky game of power. One sister resists, the other cooperates. From the beginning, Gregory paints a picture of sisterly rivalry weighed against sisterly love. Ultimately, sisterly love wins, though the rivalry proves Anne's undoing. Gregory continues the two themes of sisterly love and rivalry and women obeying (or not obeying, as the case may be) men in "The Queen's Fool." With the rivalry, and sometimes love, between Henry's two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth as historical background, Gregory tells the story of Hannah Green, a Jewish refuge from the Spanish Inquisition who, after seeing her mother burned at the stake, flees with her father to England where he sets up shop as a bookseller. Hannah, who narrates the tale, has the gift of "sight", that is, she has visions that come unbidden and reveal the future to her. It is one of those visions that, early in the story, lands her in court during the short reign of Edward VI and, after his death, leaves her as a pawn batted back and forth between Mary and Elizabeth. Hannah has the ability to see the best in both and, as much as possible, is loyal to both, no mean feat given that each princess see herself as destined for the throne of England. To complicate matters, Hannah is betrothed to another Jewish refuge, who like her, must keep his ancestry a secret. She is torn between her desire for independence and her passion for her intended husband. How she eventually reconciles the two is the meat of the novel. Gregory's narrative is engrossing, her conversations engaging. Among her previous fourteen books is a trilogy that includes "Wideacre", "The Favored Child" and "Meridon." Dare we hope that she will follow "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "The Queen's Fool" with a third partner, focusing on Elizabeth?
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful and Interesting
Review: This is the first Gregory book I have read- Can't wait to read more. You feel like you are there in Tudor England right along with the characters. The hypocracy and survival of the fittest in life at court are well portrayed. I couldn't put it down!
The rivalry between Mary and Anne was riveting as well as Gregory's attention to histrical detail. Even though most people are familiar with the story of Anne Boleyn, this is a fascinating adventure!
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