Philippa Gregory is a wonderful writer!!!

books:


	• The Boleyn Inheritance (Boleyn) Philippa Gregory Touchstone Books, 2007 - 544 pages average customer review:based on 164 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Disappointing

I loved the Other Boleyn Girl, so I was excited about picking up this sequel. Although it was readable and I enjoyed bits here and there, like a few other reviewers, I found the book INCREDIBLY repetitive. Jane's sections were the worst with the "how I loved George...no, I must not think of it." Over and over and over again. And after TOBG, I couldn't buy Jane as someone mournful of George and Anne. Anne of Cleves was generally dull and repetitive (although not as bad as the other two). I found Kitty Howard's sections the most amusing because she had a unique "voice" and some of her stupidity made me laugh, but even she was insanely repetitive ("the king is fat," "the king stinks," over and over and over again).

It wasn't a good book or a bad book, it just wasn't anywhere near as good as the Other Boleyn Girl.

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Sequel to TOBG

A sequel to The Other Boleyn Girl. You don't need to read them in order, but if you don't know anything about the reign of Henry the 8th, I would read TOBG first. I don't think that this book would be the same without a good understanding of what was going on at the time and the crazy stuff that Henry did. I also think it helps to have a sense of what Henry was like as a younger man to appreciate how messed up this period in English history was and how things progressed with Henry's growing power.

This book is from the point of view of three women, Anne of Cleves(Henry's fourth wife), Jane Boleyn (The wife of George, Anne Boleyn's brother) and Katherine Howard (Henry's fifth wife). I normally don't like it when the point of view changes from more than two characters, but it was done very well and I didn't mind at all. It did not feel segmented because when it changed POV character, the new character picked the story up from where the last character left off.

This is good historical fiction and a worth reading if you enjoy the genre and a must read for those of you who are interested in the period.

As a woman I find it utterly frightening to imagine living in Henry's court. To live in a time where you are owned by the men in your family and traded to another man, like a horse. To have little or no choice about anything in your life and your worth is judged on your ability to give birth to a boy child. To live in fear of being drug to a scaffold, kicking and screaming, to be beheaded on the whim of a madman, with no trial, or proof of a crime. It's chilling. I find it a whole lot scarier than anything Stephen King's written in the last twenty years.

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Delicious

I wish I had a job getting paid to sit all day and read Philippa Gregory books!

Truly The Boleyn Inheritance

I was really pleased with this book and I'm glad that I left it for last. It was a really good way to end the series, so far.

I highly enjoyed the three person narrative. It wasn't confusing and it gave different POVs on the same situation, which was really interesting.

I really felt for Anne of Cleves. Her home life was a shambles and she wanted out. But unfortunately she went from one mad house to another. I don't think it was fair of Henry to call her stupid and ugly. From the picture I've seen she seems to be the prettiest of his wives, or it's a good painting. She's the true voice in the novel. I think her lack of English made the court nervous because she could only speak the truth of what she saw. The truth seems to be the first thing you learn when speaking. Her disastrous meeting was more so for Henry than herself. He finally got the truth and couldn't handle it. His court did him no favours in continuing to tell him lies. They did themselves no favours by lying. I was really impressed with her decision to leave without a fight, and in doing so ended up with more than she would have elsewhere. Her decision to not go to court often saved her life. Stupid she was not.

Katherine Howard. My, my, my. She would be sweet if she wasn't so outwardly stupid, and 85% inwardly stupid. Though she could tell the truth about Henry, and kept it to herself, she was just...boring a bit to me. Let me see, what do I have? Always counting her gowns and jewelry, as if nothing else mattered. And it's possible nothing else did matter to her and that's what's a bit sad. I think Gregory wanted to portray her as not as stupid as everyone says, but even the glimpses of intelligence were short lived by her pushing them out for shiny things. She was truly a child. I found her musings on speaking French quite funny though. She learning French, but the only word she knows is "voila". Then she uses it at the weirdest times. She then says that if she goes to France then they should speak English, or they could learn. I'm thinking, "Idiot, in France they should speak French." It's almost a modern commentary though for people who think when they go abroad everyone should speak English.

Jane Parker, Boleyn, Rochford; Lady Rochford. I didn't like her in The Other Boleyn Girl at all. I found her nosy, simple and annoying. In this not so much. Most of the book she seemed sincere about being sorry for giving testimony against Anne and George Boleyn. But in her memories she stills holds on to the idea of them being lovers in a slight way. It wasn't until the end of the book when she truly showed her colours. No matter how much she may delude herself into think she's an OK person in the end she's not. She truly is a liar, schemer, malicious, evil person. I should mention she's also selfish. I truly think she has a touch of madness, but only because she brought it on herself.

This is a really good book. I read the majority of it while waiting for laundry to be done and forgot the laundry. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good read.

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Philippa Gregory is a wonderful writer!!!

I think that Philippa Gregory is a wonderful writer! She pulls you into the lives of the people in her books. After reading one of her books I ran out and bought 4 more of hers. Each one that I read; I kept finding myself unable to put them down.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, page 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

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