The Other Boleyn Girl

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 5:23 am

The Other Boleyn Girl seems to be quite controversial. Readers seem to either love it or hate it. I liked it, because it presented a dramatically different angle on Anne Boleyn, who is usually presented with great sympathy. This novel was not sympathetic to Anne, and many readers have accused it of inaccuracy. I'm not a historian of the Tudor period, so I don't want to stick my neck out too far on this - but it seems to me at least possible (if not necessarily probable) that Anne might have done some of the things she was accused of having done, and I found it interesting to consider this fresh view of her. Also I didn't think the novel was completely unsympathetic to Anne - the corrupting atmosphere of the court, with everyone scrambling for favor, seemed to take its toll on everyone to one degree or another, with Anne as much its victim as a perpetrator.

Melisende · Post by **Melisende** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 6:09 am

Read something similar - The Tudor Sisters

EC2 · Post by **EC2** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 12:29 pm

I neither loved nor hated it. It was a page turner. It portrayed a dark atmosphere where one constantly had to look over one's shoulder. I don't think it portrayed Anne Boleyn as she was or perhaps just momentary 'gleams' (check how many times people are 'gleamed at' in that novel, but I think the book played very well to modern audiences and it did set historical fiction as a genre back on its feet. Not my favourite Gregory, and IMO the incest was a load of hokum and hooey, but on the whole okay.

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 12:56 pm

[quote=""Melisende""]Read something similar - The Tudor Sisters[/quote]

Who wrote that ? Fiction or non?

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 1:39 pm

I agree with EC about the incest thing. I remember saying on the other forum that PG seems too fond of it. And I also agree that PG helped to push historical fiction into the mainstream and it helped out our community.

So while I thought the book was good at the time, upon thinking about it I'm not as fond of it. But I am thankful for what it did for our community.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 1:57 pm

[quote=""Divia""]I agree with EC about the incest thing. I remember saying on the other forum that PG seems too fond of it. And I also agree that PG helped to push historical fiction into the mainstream and it helped out our community.

So while I thought the book was good at the time, upon thinking about it I'm not as fond of it. But I am thankful for what it did for our community.[/quote]

I loved it when I first read it a few years ago when I was just getting into HF, but I'm guessing if I picked it up now it would end up making the list.

I agree about PG and the incest thing in her books. It's gotten way too old and I'm sick of it.

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 1:59 pm

I agree it was a page turner, and is the only Gregory book that I can say anything good about. But the characterisations of Anne was so over the top that it just rang false for me. Then I tried her other books and realized that all of her characterizations are over the top....

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 2:00 pm

Yeah, I think they are over the top.

My fav though is BI. I havent read her new one yet. And I havent read any reviews yet. Hmmm.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Fri August 29th, 2008, 11:57 pm

It's interesting how differently one can react to an author's books depending how many and in what order one has read them. The Other Boleyn Girl was the first of PG's novels I read. The only other one I have read so far is The Queen's Fool, which I did not find as interesting as OBG. QF is about a young Jewish woman with precognitive abilities who masquerades as a boy and becomes a fool in Queen Elizabeth's court. Taken individually, I would not have objected to either book. Taken together, it seemed like there was an anti-feminist message about women being best suited for home and family, not meddling in political affairs.

I finally stopped reading Diana Gabaldon's novels because the many spanking scenes annoyed me.

Ariadne · Post by **Ariadne** » Sat August 30th, 2008, 12:35 am

OK, I guess I never got far enough in Diana G's novels to remember those!

My favorites now of PG's are Queen's Fool and Boleyn Inheritance, though I loved TOBG when it first came out. After I reread it, a few years later, I didn't find some of the characterizations believable. That said, I enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than the film!

I reviewed her new one back in Feb, but as far as I know, the review isn't online anywhere. I gave it credit for some aspects of the storytelling and history but found it very repetitive.