A review by katiegilley
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

3.0

I read this for a book club at work, and to be honest, I probably wouldn't have finished it if not for that club. I'm glad I did because it got much better at the end - but for the first 300 pages I just wasn't sure I could hang in there.returnreturnThis one was really interesting because it focused mainly on Mary Boleyn, Queen Anne Boleyn's sister, the sister who doesn't get too much press. She had a very interesting story - married at 13, bedded with the King by 15 - and then realized that life at Court isn't so grand. returnreturnFor me, there was not a single likable character in the first half of the book (possibly with the exception of Katherine of Aragon), but Mary becomes more and more likable and I definitely started pulling for her to buck tradition and to get on with her on life as a "nobody!" returnreturnThis was rich with history and even made me do a bit of research into the time period. I was admittedly ignorant about the time period, but I find myself wanting to learn more and more to see what pieces were "historical" and which pieces were "fiction" in Gregory's novel.