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A review by storybridgereads
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
4.0
Before I dive into this review, let me first make a confession. I originally tried to read this book straight after The Other Boleyn Girl and I HATED it. I mean I absolutely loathed it, refused to finish it. My main problem, was that I felt in sympathised with the evil Jane Boleyn/Lady Rochford. So I put it aside and vowed never to pick it up again.
Until other people read my copy and loved it.
So now, some 8 months on, I gave it another go. As you can deduce from my rating, I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't still caught up in the passion of Anne and Mary and it freed me to find the characters fascinating. Voila! Suddenly these three women were three dimensional, living, breathing figures of history. Lady Rochford is a complex, unstable woman with incredible influence and no loyalty. Kitty Howard is more than just a vain, stupid teenager. She is a young girl thrust into a destiny she's unprepared for, married to a man old enough to be her grandfather. Anne of Cleaves is not a boring foreigner either; she is a woman of grace and compassion with everything to lose, a woman reminisce of Queen Katherine of Aragon.
Gregory tells this story in first person, taking on the perspective of all three main characters. Although this technique lends itself to repetitiveness and too much exposition, Gregory manages it well and there are few times when the book struggle with this problem. All three voices are easily distinguished from one another and the varied chapter lengths make it a very quick read.
I absolutely adored little Kitty Howard; which is a completely bittersweet emotion knowing how she ends her time with King Henry! Her thought process at times had me having a chuckle and at other times shaking my head in disbelief. Such a young, silly little thing to be left at court with the vultures. Such a dear little thing. Such a tragic little thing! The novel is probably worth reading just to unravel the complexities Philippa Gregory wove with this one character. She is ignorant yet observant, innocent yet scheming but above all self-serving. Simply fascinating.
Read this novel if: You would like an overview of the tyranny and fear that was the last years of Henry VIII's life.
Don't read this novel if: You've just finished The Other Boleyn Girl. Read a few books inbetween. If you attempt to read this straight away, you may spoil it.
Until other people read my copy and loved it.
So now, some 8 months on, I gave it another go. As you can deduce from my rating, I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't still caught up in the passion of Anne and Mary and it freed me to find the characters fascinating. Voila! Suddenly these three women were three dimensional, living, breathing figures of history. Lady Rochford is a complex, unstable woman with incredible influence and no loyalty. Kitty Howard is more than just a vain, stupid teenager. She is a young girl thrust into a destiny she's unprepared for, married to a man old enough to be her grandfather. Anne of Cleaves is not a boring foreigner either; she is a woman of grace and compassion with everything to lose, a woman reminisce of Queen Katherine of Aragon.
Gregory tells this story in first person, taking on the perspective of all three main characters. Although this technique lends itself to repetitiveness and too much exposition, Gregory manages it well and there are few times when the book struggle with this problem. All three voices are easily distinguished from one another and the varied chapter lengths make it a very quick read.
I absolutely adored little Kitty Howard; which is a completely bittersweet emotion knowing how she ends her time with King Henry! Her thought process at times had me having a chuckle and at other times shaking my head in disbelief. Such a young, silly little thing to be left at court with the vultures. Such a dear little thing. Such a tragic little thing! The novel is probably worth reading just to unravel the complexities Philippa Gregory wove with this one character. She is ignorant yet observant, innocent yet scheming but above all self-serving. Simply fascinating.
Read this novel if: You would like an overview of the tyranny and fear that was the last years of Henry VIII's life.
Don't read this novel if: You've just finished The Other Boleyn Girl. Read a few books inbetween. If you attempt to read this straight away, you may spoil it.