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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Kind of trashy, but I love the historical fiction. Particularly stuff about Henry VIII and his many wives. This one was not as good as The Other Boleyn Girl, however.
One of Gregory's best! The three narrators of the book are all portrayed in interesting ways, but my favorite must be the unreliable narrator Jane Boleyn, who denies her past betrayals even in her private thoughts. She talks often about her love for George and Anne and how she tried to save them, which is such a completely different representation of her actions in The Other Boleyn Girl that it really drew me in, just to wonder what on earth was going on in inside her head. Overall, she's desperate to survive and desperate to live at court and thrive, and you feel that desperation all the time. Her relationship with her uncle-in-law Norfolk is absolutely fascinating, and his final conversations with her are completely devastating and pointed and perfect.
Kitty Howard talks exactly like a silly, happy pre teen who doesn't really grasp the life or death stakes of the court she's arrived at. She's very ignorant and truly doesn't understand what she's done wrong or what might happen to her and it makes her downfall incredibly sad and tragic.
Anne of Cleves is a rather naïve, sheltered woman who is hopelessly out of place at her new court at first, but quickly surprises the other characters with her determination and her wisdom. She has an inner strength from an unhappy childhood that helps her endure everything, all of Henry's cruelties and rages and the betrayals of her so called allies at court. She is incredibly kind and caring in a world that values none of those qualities.
All three narrations weave together and move apart in a way that compares and contrasts each of the women. A distinct fear and paranoia of a wife killing king underlies it all, and this book brilliantly shows the battling factions at court.
Kitty Howard talks exactly like a silly, happy pre teen who doesn't really grasp the life or death stakes of the court she's arrived at. She's very ignorant and truly doesn't understand what she's done wrong or what might happen to her and it makes her downfall incredibly sad and tragic.
Anne of Cleves is a rather naïve, sheltered woman who is hopelessly out of place at her new court at first, but quickly surprises the other characters with her determination and her wisdom. She has an inner strength from an unhappy childhood that helps her endure everything, all of Henry's cruelties and rages and the betrayals of her so called allies at court. She is incredibly kind and caring in a world that values none of those qualities.
All three narrations weave together and move apart in a way that compares and contrasts each of the women. A distinct fear and paranoia of a wife killing king underlies it all, and this book brilliantly shows the battling factions at court.
An easy read. I wanted to learn a little more about that time and I think the author has both done her research and had fun with it, adding gossip and intrigue. However, it felt as if she thought the reader to be as dim-witted as she has drawn Katherine Howard and killed a couple of points over and over again through-out the book. Overall, I'm glad I read it, but I won't re-read it.
Another good Philippa Gregory book, although I found this one to be a little repetitive. It should have been about 50 pages shorter.
i like it as much as "the Other Boleyn Girl" and will read "Queen's Fool" next.
Philippa Gregory ci racconta una dinastia Tudor diversa dal solito. Lo fa attraverso le voci delle donne che ne hanno fatto parte. In questo romanzo, tocca a Catherine Howard, Anna di Cleves e Jane Rochford. Cate Howard è la vittima di un re pedofilo, che noncurante di poter essere suo nonno per età, se la prende e la sposa. Lei non può fare altro che subire la volontà del re e dello zio che la usa per avere sempre più potere sul re contro gli odiati Seymour. La butterà via appena non gli servirà più. Morirà giovanissima, senza aver capito quale potesse essere la sua colpa. Anna, data in pasto al re da un fratello morbosamente attratto da lei, sarà ripudiata e solo per caso avrà salva la vita, ma non avendo mai la possibilità di sposarsi e avere figli, come avrebbe voluto. Jane è una pedina, usata che per creare prove contro le donne cui è al servizio. Donne giovani, usate come merci. Non è romantico il mondo dei Tudor descritto dalla Gregory. Enrico VIII è un tiranno, un pericoloso narcisista, totalmente incapace di empatia nei confronti di chi gli sta accanto, ma non sono migliori gli altri uomini che lo circondano. La figura dorata del grande re, il più bello della cristianità, è mostruosa per la sua crudeltà e incapacità di gestire le proprie pulsioni.
This was a very satisfying end to the saga of Henry VIII wives :-) I can not imagine living that kind of duplicitous life where any wrong glance or word could equate to death. The power entitled to that man is truly outrageous!
I'm still reading this one... having a hard time getting into it, and have been sidetracked by Harry Potter and Harlan Coben's The Woods.
There were several points during the story where it didn't flow very well - good character development and an interesting perspective, but not as well written as The Other Boleyn Girl and certainly not as engaging.