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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Very interesting and well written. Can't wait to read some of her other books.
I am surprised I liked this book as much as I did. Namely, I really like historical fiction, but usually I don't get too into this time period. This book is clearly fiction, but is based upon true historical events. I wish there was a little more clarification on the fabrications or more on the actual history in the author's notes, but anything I wanted to know, I was able to easily look up online. My only real complaint is that the timing was a bit odd. Sometimes a summer would be pages and pages, while other times, seasons were skipped all together. This made reading a little awkward at times (ex. "why is it Christmas already, it was just Christmas 8 pages ago"). Otherwise it is a well known tale that was written well.
Overall a fun read, a rated R version of King Henry VIII's court, with great stretches of imagination instead of verifiable fact.
This is not a modern classic, the characters weren't very complex and the writing was just okay. However, this book was very enjoyable and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a somewhat intelligent beach/subway read.
Anne is very different from the movie's characterization, making her a much more complex and interesting character. Onto the next book in the series!
I've always been interested in the story of Anne Boleyn so I decided to give this a try. The story itself, though long, was captivating. Of course Philippa Gregory took many liberties. I was constantly checking facts as I read this book and was surprised to see that Gregory actually, as far as I can tell, stayed true to most of the events and dates (though my knowledge of this time period is very limited). But she completely messed up the most crucial part: the characters. They were all completely flat and one-sided. Very little is known about Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, but from a character stand point, Gregory made her far too naive and dumb. It just wasn't believable. She was most real to me when she was with or begging to be with her children, but then she'd go chapters upon chapters without mentioning them. George Boleyn seemed to be more of a tool than a character. And worse of all was Anne Boleyn herself. Gregory turned her into an evil villain. Yes, the real Anne Boleyn was ambitious, smart and probably really did taint the King's mind to become queen, but I just can't imagine anyone being as evil and passionless as Gregory portrays her in this book. And finally, after describing so many petty events in detail, I was shocked and disappointed that Gregory devoted only one quick chapter to the trials and executions at the end. After spending over 600 pages with these characters, I wanted their final moments to last more than a few sentences. The complete lack of emotion at the end left me feeling cheated. The executions were a key moment in history--Gregory could have written a powerful end. Instead she appeared to be suddenly in a huge hurry to finish the book as quickly as possible. So overall, the story was more intriguing than I thought it would be, but the characters and end completely dragged the book down.
I ended up loving this book but it took a little reading to get there. It ended up being on of my favorites.
Delightful guilty pleasure. There's nothing that justifies trashy romance/scandal like a hint of historical accuracy.
I listened to an audio recording of this and thoroughly enjoyed it. This story is told from the point of view of Mary Boleyn, the sister of the more famous Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and the cause of the beginning of the split with the Roman Catholic Church.
I like Philippa books quite a bit. She has a real knack for bringing British history to life and making it interesting and engaging.