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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
I have read these in series order (not published order) and I got through this one faster than any of the others! I think it was an easier read because the chapters were a lot shorter and we had the constant changing POVs between the 3 women. Philippa acknowledged at the end that there is a lot less info available for Anne of Cleves & Katherine Howard than there is for Henry's other wives, so again there is creative license used here. That being said, here's how I feel about these 2 women.
Jane Boleyn: married to George Boleyn. Her testimony helped send George and Anne Boleyn to their deaths and she was ALWAYS jealous of Georges relationship with his sisters and not with her. Since we get her version of what happened in this one, we find that she sees what she did "out of love for her husband" as opposed to how we see her in The Other Boleyn Girl which shows her as a scheming, sneaky little spy for the Duke of Norfolk (who is a giant piece of shit) whom she still is, except this time, it doesn't end so well for her.
Katherine Howard: I hate to say this about other women, but she was basically a slut from very early on. She only wants to have everyone look at her, to have pretty, new, shiny things and that everyone loves her. Towards the end I started skipping most of her chapters because her thoughts run in circles and always goes back to what she has (new gowns, jewels, admirers, etc) and it's frivolous. Even at the end, she couldn't believe that wasn't being forgiven and allowed to go free.
Anne of Cleves: from Dusseldorf, speaks German (no English), under the thumb of her controlling & sadistic brother and is desperate to get away from him, even if that means marrying a King that has already had 3 wives. While she wants to be a great Queen and good step-mother/friend to Princesses Mary & Elizabeth and Prince Edward, she is not overly ambitious and reminds me a lot of both Margaret Pole and Mary Boleyn (Carey, Stafford) in that they really just want to live a quiet life and not be part of the Court or it's politics. Philippa made me really like Anne and while we know that she did "make it out alive" we don't know a lot about her and it makes you wonder if Henry had stopped with her, if she would have been able to help make England a more peaceful & religious tolerant country.
I have read these in series order (not published order) and I got through this one faster than any of the others! I think it was an easier read because the chapters were a lot shorter and we had the constant changing POVs between the 3 women. Philippa acknowledged at the end that there is a lot less info available for Anne of Cleves & Katherine Howard than there is for Henry's other wives, so again there is creative license used here. That being said, here's how I feel about these 2 women.
Jane Boleyn: married to George Boleyn. Her testimony helped send George and Anne Boleyn to their deaths and she was ALWAYS jealous of Georges relationship with his sisters and not with her. Since we get her version of what happened in this one, we find that she sees what she did "out of love for her husband" as opposed to how we see her in The Other Boleyn Girl which shows her as a scheming, sneaky little spy for the Duke of Norfolk (who is a giant piece of shit) whom she still is, except this time, it doesn't end so well for her.
Katherine Howard: I hate to say this about other women, but she was basically a slut from very early on. She only wants to have everyone look at her, to have pretty, new, shiny things and that everyone loves her. Towards the end I started skipping most of her chapters because her thoughts run in circles and always goes back to what she has (new gowns, jewels, admirers, etc) and it's frivolous. Even at the end, she couldn't believe that wasn't being forgiven and allowed to go free.
Anne of Cleves: from Dusseldorf, speaks German (no English), under the thumb of her controlling & sadistic brother and is desperate to get away from him, even if that means marrying a King that has already had 3 wives. While she wants to be a great Queen and good step-mother/friend to Princesses Mary & Elizabeth and Prince Edward, she is not overly ambitious and reminds me a lot of both Margaret Pole and Mary Boleyn (Carey, Stafford) in that they really just want to live a quiet life and not be part of the Court or it's politics. Philippa made me really like Anne and while we know that she did "make it out alive" we don't know a lot about her and it makes you wonder if Henry had stopped with her, if she would have been able to help make England a more peaceful & religious tolerant country.
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
I liked this, but The Other Boleyn Girl was much better.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Following three women - this again was a really enjoyable read.
Anne of Cleves a dutiful, you g and lucky to be spared her life despite doing nothing wrong.
Katherine Howard, young , naive and thought she could get away with affairs met a horrible end.
Jane Rochford - George Boleyn’s wife appears on the surface to be supportive but is manipulated by family but did she choose this route herself?
A wonderful third book I have read in this series and the audiobook is wonderful.
Anne of Cleves a dutiful, you g and lucky to be spared her life despite doing nothing wrong.
Katherine Howard, young , naive and thought she could get away with affairs met a horrible end.
Jane Rochford - George Boleyn’s wife appears on the surface to be supportive but is manipulated by family but did she choose this route herself?
A wonderful third book I have read in this series and the audiobook is wonderful.
Not as good as the other Boelyn girl, but still a good read
Coincidentally, I finished this (not for the first time, admittedly) on the day of Catherine Howard's execution.
As another piece of the series I'm rereading rather than getting for the first time, it's again interesting to see the differences not only as someone older, but as information changes. I didn't realize that whether or not Catherine and Culpepper having a sexual relationship was something that was up for debate (may have to dig into that a little more, considering that this and most other books I've read seem to believe it), and the information about Jane Boleyn having a child is certainly something I've never seen referred to outside of this series (though admittedly she is not portrayed to be a stable person). Overall, it's very interesting to see the viewpoints of three different women and the choices they make to survive in Tudor England, and how they each succeed and fail in their own ways. I might have enjoyed a little more about Anne of Cleves' life after the marriage ended; I realize she lived relatively privately and there wouldn't be much concrete information about that time, but considering everything she gave up, it would be nice to see more of what she did once she had her own life.
As another piece of the series I'm rereading rather than getting for the first time, it's again interesting to see the differences not only as someone older, but as information changes. I didn't realize that whether or not Catherine and Culpepper having a sexual relationship was something that was up for debate (may have to dig into that a little more, considering that this and most other books I've read seem to believe it), and the information about Jane Boleyn having a child is certainly something I've never seen referred to outside of this series (though admittedly she is not portrayed to be a stable person). Overall, it's very interesting to see the viewpoints of three different women and the choices they make to survive in Tudor England, and how they each succeed and fail in their own ways. I might have enjoyed a little more about Anne of Cleves' life after the marriage ended; I realize she lived relatively privately and there wouldn't be much concrete information about that time, but considering everything she gave up, it would be nice to see more of what she did once she had her own life.
Not as good as The Other Boleyn Girl but better than the Constant Princess. 3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book! The writing style took a little getting used to since there isn't much dialogue, but I learned to like it after a couple chapters.