What can I say about 'The Other Boleyn Girl'? I have rerad several of Philippa Gregory's books, but this was definitely my favourite. She did a great job of telling the full story of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and Anne's sister, Mary. Told from Mary's point of view, this book puts a fresh new perspective on all events that have to do with infamous Anne, while we learn Mary's fascinating story as well.

I never once was tempted tp put this book down. There's an ideal blend of history, intrigue, romance and drama. Philippa Greogory's writing style is smooth and perfect for Mary Boleyn to tell her sister's and her own story with. Definitely worth buying, I think you'll find that once you've read the last page, you'll be disappointed that the book is finished!

Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

What a captivating book...full of detail, deceit, love, lust, adultry, and thirst for power. The blending of fact and fiction in is seamless. The plots and counter-plots were highly entertaining, teeming with inferior characters who bet everything on the whims of a juvenile King. The adventure is magnificent. I would recommend this book to everyone, it will capture you in countless ways....READ THIS BOOK!

This was the second book that I have read by Philippa Gregory, and it has made me want to read the rest of her novels about the Tudors. After reading The Other Tudors by Philippa Jones (non-fiction) I was greatly impressed by how Gregory has seamlessly weaved historical events and places within the story. It is easy for one to imagine oneself in that time period. It was very interesting seeing how women of that time were used more as chattel, some would say that our world hasn't changed much.

The Other Boleyn Girl was a very interesting, captivating book. It was full of detail, deceit, love, lust and thirst for power. I loved the character build up and the dirty laundry that went on behind palace walls.

Did not read 'The constant princess' before I read this; wish I had read them in sequence. Very engaging read; hard to put away for very long. Although no one really knows the 'true behind the scenes' story of Henry VIII and his relationships with Mary and Ann Boleyn, other than what is documented fact, the story she weaves around that history is highly entertaining. If anything, it is a a commentary on the (in)value of women in this era and their struggles to survive this paternalistic and domineering environment.

The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory


I do say I enjoyed Gregory's take on this pivotal piece of British history, she writes an entertaining tale, even though her sources for her research are reputed to be flawed.

Gregory builds her characters and their relationships quite well, and a great writer. But, what I did find off putting was some of the plot devises Gregory uses to drive the story. This was the second book that I had read by Gregory, the first being Wise Woman, which I loved, and Gregory uses the exact same plot device to start and finish both of these books.

It is a very dramatic and important piece of history, and a perfect story to inspire both books and movies, and other than that one issue with the plot device, I really enjoyed the book. It is an easy read, even though it is about very interesting and complex characters, where women are used a merely political pawns by there families to advance and gain political influence.

This book I read in just a couple of days which is no easy feat as I have three small children. Could not put it down and was always thinking about the plot and characters.

An excellent read for anyone who wanted to understand the historical events surrounding Henry VIII....Philippa Gregory adds an emotional twist to the actual factual events...The feelings of the characters are not real...but the historical facts are!!! A really good read!!!!

I liked this book, mostly for the fact that I'm a history lover, and I am particularly fascinated with Henry VIII. Phillipa Gregory's choice to write from Mary's perspective was wise, although Gregory's voice was a bit redundant and tiring. It was a good read, but I was a bit disappointing, because I had heard a lot of hype and watched/loved the movie.

I absolutely loved this book, it was AMAZING!!! Sure I mean not all the facts were accurate but that point aside this was very entertaining and I could not put it down. The main character was Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister - therefore The Other Boleyn Girl. I love that it was written from her perspective; it gave a new light of life in the court of Henry VIII.

Mary, who is made out to be a simple girl (though she is not simple, just lacking in some areas) is taken at the age of 13 (I think, I had a hard time of keeping track the characters ages and the years) to be the mistress of the King. She remains that way until shortly after the birth of her second child when she is ousted as the Kings favourite by her sister Anne. For me this is when the book got even more interesting because her family has it seems put her aside and no longer cares for her, we get to learn more about her. Since I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it I will just say that even though Mary was The Other Boleyn Girl after reading this book I believe that she was the only happy one in the family - I mean we all know how it ended for Anne. In the end Mary had it all; she had beautiful children, a loving husband, and she escaped the court of Henry VIII with her head.

On a final note for anyone who hasn't read this book: READ THIS BOOK, you will NOT regret it.

read this book a few years ago, but it still remains my favourite of Gregory's novels. I remember when I sat down to read it, I was literally flipping the pages like a crazy person and basically did nothing for 3 whole days while I inhaled the thing. (much to my husbands extreme eye-rolling)

The summary: (from the jacket)

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" reads like a movie script, so it's really not all that surprising that a couple of years ago the movie, in fact, came out. I have to admit, I never did go see it. The book was such a great and fast read that I thought the movie may not do it justice. I felt a lot of sympathy for Mary in the beginning, and grew to loathe Anne. Mary is powerless against the mammoth greed her family has to gain power and riches from the King, and she desperately tries to please the king in every way. And as we begin to realize that the king's affections are turning to Anne, we see Mary wilt and then rise to the occasion as Anne's scheming partner to gain her the crown. And then there's George. He provides some levity in the book, but he is not without his faults. And the three of them form Team Anne as they do everything they can to keep Anne from going insane with her antics of trying to stay in the King's favour and eventually become his queen. They also form a trio that eventually hides a deadly secret.

Having very little knowledge of King Henry VIII's history, I was rivetted by the story. Oh, I knew the basics, like he had gone through a few wives, and had a pattern of doing away with them in a brutal way, but not the rich and lavish details of the court and the politics of the time. I mentioned a couple of days ago that the mark of a good historical fiction novel is that you want to then go and research more about the subject. GOOGLE : HENRY VIII. Which I totally did. And then I went to the library and piled my arms with books about him and his wives and watched documentaries. It was awesome! So, when I heard that there was going to be a TV series called "The Tudors" I was super excited! Until I saw that they had cast Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the part.

Help me, Rhonda.

But I digress......

Through fantastic writing, and tight editing, The Other Boleyn Girl will have you turning its pages till the wee hours of the night, and likely thinking of the characters when you are not in the act of reading it.

A great story that intertwines fact and fiction, told from the perspective of Mary Boleyn. Fast paced, full of intrigue and suspense. It will enchant and capture you in countless ways, even if you already know the history and the inevitable ending. A great read!!!!

The book became a major disappointment for me. I've read so many raving reviews about The Other Boleyn Girl, I couldn't wait to read more about Anne Boleyn and her lesser known sister. I expected a gem of historical fiction, but got more fiction than I've ever bargained for and hardly any history at all.

In my opinion the major flaw of this book is that it's told from Mary Boleyn's point of view, which considerably limits the scope of events that the author can play with. Mary herself confesses that she isn't interested in England's politics, internal or international. Because of that we, as a reader, never experience the great tension that came from constant political juggling with Spain or France - a major force that drove the king's passion for superiority in Europe. We never really get to see how great of a change the English Reformation was - probably one of the most important events in the country's history. The key figures that practically shaped the events of the period and played a major role in Henry's ruling and marriage decisions, - Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey, Bishop Fisher to name a few - are cast aside as episodic characters. Oops, they died, who cares? Cromwell, who? It is understandable that the novel is a story about the two Boleyn sisters, not a history textbook, but all of these mentioned people and affairs were directly connected to Anne and had a lot to do with her rise and demise.

Besides the lack of substance in the plot, I also have a lot of issues with the characters. The two sisters are extremely black and white. While Mary is all that is innocent and wants nothing but to live a peaceful life with her husband and children, Anne spends her days scheming, plotting and poisoning people. Mary is unbelievably selfless and committed, everything she does is meant for good of those around her. She doesn't need anything, but to live on a farm in the country. I am sorry, but I don't believe that a girl, who's been brought up in a court full of intrigues and luxuries since she was four, would even dare to think of such things as being a farmer. I also don't believe that she is so against plotting for the throne. Girls of that time were used to arranged marriages and considered any chance that would bring them a beneficial match and name to their families.

No matter how much I've disliked Anne in the past, I can't help but feel sorry for her for being portrayed so horribly by Gregory. The author makes her look just pure evil! It seems that till the very end Anne is ready to use anyone and everyone to get her out of hot water or drag them down with her in case she fails. I don't believe that Anne didn't care for her daughter, on the contrary, in reality she did everything she could to secure Elizabeth's future and to protect her from Henry's wrath. I don't think her support of Reformation was based on selfish desire to improve her stature; Anne was a deeply religious person, and she wanted to expose Rome's corruption for the good of English people. And I find the claim that she committed incest with her brother to be completely ridiculous. Not a single historian believes in validity of these claims, and it is widely accepted that the story was made up to rid Henry of the unwanted marriage. Overall, I think the readers who have never read any history books on Anne would get a very wrong picture of this fascinating woman.

My favourite time period for sure. This is the most captivating, vast, detailed, eceptionally written, compelling book that I've ever read and it is my favourite book.
Philippa Gregory even became my favourite author after I finished reding this book. She is the most talented writer I've come across and I don't think an author could possibly take her place as what I consider the best.
I am now reading The Boleyn Inheritance and own five of her books.
The Other Boleyn deserved every ounce of the recognition it recieved and more. This is a must read book.
You'll miss out if you don't.

Before you see the movie you must read the book. This is one of the greatest historical fiction novels i have ever read. The plot is thick with sexual intrigue and suspense. The characters are well formed bringing the historical figures to life. Although the book is not completely factual the historic parts of it are spiced up through Gregory's re-telling.

I highly recommend this book for all lover of historical fiction or an excellent story.

I totally agree with the other reviews, this book is awesome! It definitely is a page-turner and you won't want to put it down! ENJOY*

This book is captivating and compelling. The writing is fantastic and I didn't spot a fault in the historical context. It gave a new light onto the situation of King Henry VIII. I found myself loving the characters of Anne and George Boleyn. There was also great entertainment. It is a book that I could read over and over again.

The Other Boleyn Girl is a great book about the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. The book is written from the point of view of Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, who was also one of Henry VIII's mistresses. It is another great work of historical fiction by Philippa Gregory.

If you watched the movie and loved it but felt like you wanted more...definitely read the book. The book is much better than the movie (as they usually are). The movie leaves out many great scenes and completely changes others. The book is also more historically accurate than the movie was. Once you get into the book you will have a hard time putting it down!

I read this on holiday and said to my partner as he asked if I was going to go to sleep already, "I just can't this book is crazy good.". It's a page turner. Interesting historical fiction - written during such a dramatic time in the English monarchy. She writes from the POV of one sister which brings reliability into consideration, which is interesting. She uses allusions and irony in her writing which is fun to pick up. An interesting, engaging, smart book.

After seeing the movie I just had to read the book, this book is one that i could not put down and when it was over i was very sad i wish Phillippa wrote more this is one book everyone should read.