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A review by readingwithtea
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
5.0
The Other Boleyn Girl
4.5/5
I picked this book up at a particularly rough patch in my life (though in this year, who isn’t having a rough go at it) because I’ve already read it before and I already know I love it. Is that cheating when it comes to writing reviews? I wasn’t writing reviews back then, but I am now, so now that the book is fresh I think it deserves a review too.
Anyway, I love Philippa Gregory, and in fact, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance were my introduction to the historical fiction genre and my real spark for reading as a young adult. So this book has a special place for me, but I will try to review it as objectively as possible.
Philippa Gregory gave a huge bump to the historical fiction genre with the success of this book. She wasn’t the only author at the time, but she was the one who made waves, and the accessibility of this book, I think, is what did it.
It’s very easy to read and get pulled into. There are times where the main character, Mary Boleyn, says things that are clearly unrealistic for the times or setting. But she’s a likable character and easy to root for throughout the book.
It’s ironic that one of my favorite portrayals of Anne Boleyn is also one of my least favorite portrayals of George Boleyn. Though, it’s very obvious that Gregory does this to lend credibility to some of the historical events that occur near the conclusion of the novel.
Is it unrealistic? Yes. If I had picked this book up for the first time today, I will be honest with you: I probably would not love it as much as did having picked it up years ago, fresh and impressionable (and pretty much ignorant of English history, boy that was some time ago).
But there are plenty of books that I still love despite historical inaccuracies, and there are plenty of other readers who also don’t mind them. It is an innate part of the genre, but it’s also a huge part of this book, larger than I would consider “normal” for the genre.
If you err on the side of true to history, then you probably already know to stay away from Gregory’s works anyway. If you can’t wait to dig into the drama of times past with two sisters and a king between them, then boy do I have the book for you.
4.5/5
I picked this book up at a particularly rough patch in my life (though in this year, who isn’t having a rough go at it) because I’ve already read it before and I already know I love it. Is that cheating when it comes to writing reviews? I wasn’t writing reviews back then, but I am now, so now that the book is fresh I think it deserves a review too.
Anyway, I love Philippa Gregory, and in fact, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance were my introduction to the historical fiction genre and my real spark for reading as a young adult. So this book has a special place for me, but I will try to review it as objectively as possible.
Philippa Gregory gave a huge bump to the historical fiction genre with the success of this book. She wasn’t the only author at the time, but she was the one who made waves, and the accessibility of this book, I think, is what did it.
It’s very easy to read and get pulled into. There are times where the main character, Mary Boleyn, says things that are clearly unrealistic for the times or setting. But she’s a likable character and easy to root for throughout the book.
It’s ironic that one of my favorite portrayals of Anne Boleyn is also one of my least favorite portrayals of George Boleyn. Though, it’s very obvious that Gregory does this to lend credibility to some of the historical events that occur near the conclusion of the novel.
Is it unrealistic? Yes. If I had picked this book up for the first time today, I will be honest with you: I probably would not love it as much as did having picked it up years ago, fresh and impressionable (and pretty much ignorant of English history, boy that was some time ago).
But there are plenty of books that I still love despite historical inaccuracies, and there are plenty of other readers who also don’t mind them. It is an innate part of the genre, but it’s also a huge part of this book, larger than I would consider “normal” for the genre.
If you err on the side of true to history, then you probably already know to stay away from Gregory’s works anyway. If you can’t wait to dig into the drama of times past with two sisters and a king between them, then boy do I have the book for you.