Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #451 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-07
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Everyone knows the fate of Anne Boleyn, but not many know the story of her rise to majesty and the part played by her rival and sister, Mary, who was Henry's mistress and mother to two of his bastard children before the dazzling older Boleyn girl even caught his eye. Philippa Gregory, whose own role as the Queen of historical romance grows more secure with each new novel, has surpassed her self with this epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal. The Other Boleyn Girl charts the lives of both Boleyns--each in their turn "the other Boleyn Girl"--and their fiercely ambitious, conniving family who used the girls as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII. At 13, Mary is little more than a child when she is presented to Henry, ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by opening her legs whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great monarch desires. And while his loins are satisfied, life at court is sweet for the unofficial Queen and her pushy coterie. Inevitably though, the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary is overlooked, helpless to do anything but aid her family's plot to advance their fortunes, replace her with Anne and give Henry the greatest gift of all: a son and heir.

So good a job has Ms Gregory done at portraying the Boleyns and Howards as selfish, scheming, treacherous manipulators however, that it becomes increasingly hard to feel empathy for any of them. While Mary is merely hapless, Anne is the most ruthless of them all, so that instead of feeling cheated by knowing the outcome of her story, it only serves to help digest her unpalatable rise. Such a gruesome destiny was never more deserved. Ms Gregory has worked hard at researching her historical references. Daily life at court is described in fascinating detail--from the relentless leisure pursuits, masques and banquets laid on for the easily bored King to the complex hierarchies and machinations of the courtiers. However, the fall of Queen Katherine of Aragon and her only child, the Princess Mary, and the politics of the competing European courts and the break with Rome are seen only as a backdrop to the bawdy goings-on of the Boleyns and their fateful race for the crown. --Carey Green

You Magazine
The very believable dialogue and detail take you all the way into the claustrophobic privy chambers of the royal palaces.

Synopsis
Fabulous historical novel set in the court of King Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn attracts the attention of the young king and becomes his mistress; when he tires of her, she sets out to school her sister, Anne, as a replacement. Politics and passion are inextricably bound together in this compelling drama. The Boleyn family is keen to rise through the ranks of society, and what better way to attract the attention of the most powerful in the land than to place their most beautiful young woman at court? But Mary becomes the king's mistress at a time of change. He needs his personal pleasures, but he also needs an heir. The unthinkable happens and the course of English history is irrevocably changed. For the women at the heart of the storm, they have only one weapon; and when it's no longer enough to be the mistress, Mary must groom her younger sister in the ways of the king. What happens next is common knowledge -- but here it is told in a way we've never heard it before, with all of Philippa Gregory's characteristic perceptiveness, backed by meticulous research and superb storytelling skills.

Customer Reviews

Une petite merveille/ A jewel too
Bien sur tout d'abord il faut rappeler que ceci est un ROMAN, et non un livre d'histoire. Il faut savoir faire la difference.
Je me suis interressée à l'histoire des Tudors et en lisant ce livre je savais que le roman avait pris le dessus sur de nombreux points mais cela ne gache en rien le delice qu'est ce livre. une merveille que l'on ne peut poser, tres riche en details sur la vie à la Court du roi.
Plus qu'un livre d'histoire ce livre donne vit à des figures historiques...Avec ce que l'on apprend à l'ecole on en viendrait presque à oublier que les 6 femmes d'Henry VIII etaient des etres humains comme nous et avaient elles aussi leur dose de souffrance (ci ce n'est beaucoup plus que de simples servantes) Ici l'auteur donne sa voix à l'autre Boleyn, celle qui n'apparait que peu dans nos livres d'histoire et de ce personnage on decouvre un monde de manipulations, vengences, violence, faux semblants...
Bref tout cela pour dire que j'ai adoré ce livre du debut à la fin, passionant, plein d'intrigues,et de suspence (meme si on sait deja la fin on garde toujours un ptit espoir)

Je donne 5 etoiles à ce livre car ne l'oublions pas c'est un ROMAN!

Engaging
I really enjoyed this. It's far more fast paced then I thought it would be so I never got bored with it, didn't want it to end. I don't know what the author did to create that effect other than it's just a well told story, the characters become very real and relatable. I would definitely recommend it as a great read, maybe not if you are a total history buffs as discrepancies will only annoy you.

The other B. girl
What a load of purile rubbish!!! Full of inaccurate facts and fiction,
G-d help us if people take this as history, what an abortion this is.