When it was my turn at the book club to select a
book I tossed and turned trying to think of a book which the ladies would enjoy
but which would also encourage conversation. The last couple of books were all
about the C20th so it was time for a change. Since studying the Tudors in Year 9 at High School, I've always found the
Anne Boleyn story fascinating - a prime example of the political and religious
shenanigans of one of England
I chose Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl
as it covers the lives of women in history which should be an
interesting topic for a bunch of women. The book is historical fiction, based
closely of real life events and people in the past but when reading these types
of books I do take everything with a pinch of salt.
as it covers the lives of women in history which should be an
interesting topic for a bunch of women. The book is historical fiction, based
closely of real life events and people in the past but when reading these types
of books I do take everything with a pinch of salt.
Everyone knows the fate of Anne Boleyn, but not
many know the story of her rise to become Queen of England and the part played
by her sister Mary, who for many years before Anne caught his eye, was Henry's
mistress and mother to two of his bastard children. These two children would be
the closest to family Elizabeth I had and she kept them close to her throughout
her reign. If you would like to read more about Anne Boleyn’s life and execution then do so in my Traitors in the Tower post.
The Boleyn Family
The Boleyn family, like other ambitious families at court, used the girls in their family as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII. At the age of thirteen, Mary was presented to Henry VIII ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by opening her legs whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great beast of a King desired. While the Kings sexual desires were quenched, life at court was sweet for the Boleyn family who boldly basked in the favourable rays of favour from Henry VIII. Inevitably the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary having born two of Henry’s children is overlooked. The Boleyn family were loosing their grip. A new filly was need to entertain the King hence when Anne came onto the scene. Mary was helpless to do anything but aide her family's plot to advance their fortunes. The plan was fool proof, all Anne needed to do now was marry the King and then produce a male heir.
Character Portrayals
Philippa Gregory portrays the Boleyns and Howards as selfish, scheming, treacherous manipulators which makes it hard to feel any empathy for them.
Portrayal of Mary Boleyn
Mary is
portrayed as
passive, naive, slow-witted, submissive to the authority figures in her life
even when they are morally wrong, and all that is pure and virtuous in the
world. She is always ethically and morally right, despite having some quite ugly
opinions of other people and undertaking questionable actions. Mary is never reviled by the other characters, and is only once or twice called
offensive insults, but only by stereotypically bad characters. In contrast, when
Anne is with the king, she is single and has no husband to betray, and yet she
is in the wrong because her love for Henry is not the innocent pure love of
Mary. When Mary teaches Anne the techniques to keep Henry happy, Anne is spat
at and insulted by everyone despite having learned them from Mary.
In short, this Mary Boleyn is bland, boring and
one-dimensional. She was treated as a doormat which, as a twentieth century woman I found frustrating and craved her emancipation. Mary is held up as
something to be admired. We too, the readers are told, should try to be placid and obedient
and prefer the life of an impoverished country idyll married to the
stereotypical poor but honest man.
The real Mary Boleyn,
judging from her stream of letters to her family and the king, was desperate to
return to court and escape even the life of the country gentlewoman. The real Mary Boleyn who slept around and
whose real life second husband went rioting in London
Anne, the devout,
clever and generous woman of history is nowhere in evidence here. Instead she's
been replaced by a character of the same name who is instead petty, vain,
cruel, possessive, and whose wit and intelligence is painted as a negative
character trait for a woman to possess. Incest with her brother, deformed babies
resulting from aforementioned sinful union, attempted poisonings of Princess
Mary and Bishop Fisher, and using witchcraft to have an abortion have never been proven. It's true that Anne was known to have a temper and a very sharp tongue but her character is twisted into something unrecognisable to the Anne I have become to know through my other reading.
Portrayal of George Boleyn
George Boleyn is portrayed as a bisexual
stereotype which seems a little strong. He was very well known as a womaniser. George's scaffold speech was primarily concerned with defending his religious beliefs and his passion for reform. It was not the honourable thing to deny guilt once a guilty verdict had been given in a court of law, and therefore he followed the conventions of the day by admitting he was a sinner deserving of death. He begged forgiveness of anyone he may have offended and begged for God's forgiveness. He came close to denying his guilt by declaring, beware, trust not in the vanity of the world or the flatterys of the court, or the favour and treacheries of fortune. George Cavendish, Gentleman Usher to Cardinal Wolsey, in his poetry entitled Metrical Visions lambastes the young man for his womanising, saying:
I forced widows, maidens I did deflower.
All was one to me, I spared none at all,
My appetite was all women to devour
My study was both day and hour.
Historical References
What I did
enjoy was the 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 and spolit King to the complex hierarchies and machinations of
the courtiers. It’s a shame that the fall of Queen Katherine of Aragon and her only child, Princess Mary, and
the politics of the competing European courts and the break with Rome
Summary:
There were a number of heated debates at our
monthly meeting about this book. Given that a number of the women hadn’t previously
read historical fiction I was relieved and overjoyed by the passion with which
the women spoke about Anne and her sister Mary in particular.
If you haven’t read The Other Boleyn Girl please remember that
the story is based upon history but Philippa Gregory has reworked the
characters to make the story more compelling. It is still a good read, the story moves along at a good pace, it isn't
bogged down by overly descriptive phrases or stilted dialogue. All of the main
characters are brought vividly to life in a way which Philippa Gregory does
with all her books. I found myself still thinking about the characters for days
after I had finished the book. If you have developed a taste of works about the Tudor period then I would recommend both Eric
Ives and David Starkey.
You should follow me on twitter here.
please remember that
the story is based upon history but Philippa Gregory has reworked the
characters to make the story more compelling. It is still a good read, the story moves along at a good pace, it isn't
bogged down by overly descriptive phrases or stilted dialogue. All of the main
characters are brought vividly to life in a way which Philippa Gregory does
with all her books. I found myself still thinking about the characters for days
after I had finished the book. If you have developed a taste of works about the Tudor period then I would recommend both Eric
Ives and David Starkey.You should follow me on twitter here.
