The Other Boleyn Girl

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Sat August 30th, 2008, 2:32 am

Queen's Fool annoyed me to no end, because the very premise was faulty - that a young unmarried Jewish girl would be picked by the two lords in question, and to be able to become Queen's Fool as an anonymous person. The idea that she could hide her Jewishness in that time is ludicrious. I am also remembering frustration with how she dealt with her fiance, and basicaly thought she was an idiot first, and out of character for the time second.

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Sat August 30th, 2008, 4:33 am

[quote=""Margaret""]
I finally stopped reading Diana Gabaldon's novels because the many spanking scenes annoyed me.[/quote]

I only remember one. Now if you were going to talk about how many characters get raped, then I would understand that that is getting a bit old.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Sat August 30th, 2008, 5:06 am

As I recall, there were more spanking scenes as the series progressed. The first one didn't bother me so much, but it got to where it almost seemed like a theme in the series. But it's been awhile since I read any of these novels.

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Sat August 30th, 2008, 6:46 am

I thought Queen's Fool is her worst novel to date. I also remember someone here who was Jewish saying that PG got some Jewish details wrong.

Melisende · Post by **Melisende** » Sat August 30th, 2008, 7:48 am

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]Who wrote that ? Fiction or non?[/quote]

"The Tudor Sisters" by Aileen Armitage is the (fictional) story of Mary and Anne Boleyn. It begins with the death of their mother and finishes with Henry's impending marriage to Anne. For me, however, it is more the story of Mary. In this book, the author places Mary as the elder of the two sisters who went to France in the entourage of Mary Tudor when she married the King of France.

The book itself is barely 200 pages - and its easy to read, whether the Tudor period of English history takes your fancy or not. Though, not a fan of the abundance of Tudor fiction about, I did enjoy the book.

I think the story of Mary Boleyn is becoming more popular than that of her sister (and rival) Anne. Mary, at least, survived her entanglement with Henry VIII!.

princess garnet · Post by **princess garnet** » Sat August 30th, 2008, 2:03 pm

I read and enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl. I got to 'know' Mary Boleyn better.

I also own TQFand Boleyn Inheritance. I borrowed The Constant Princess from the library.

Spitfire · Post by **Spitfire** » Fri September 5th, 2008, 2:14 am

[quote=""Misfit""]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.

[/quote]

I have to totally agree with you here Misfit. I Read TOBG a few years back as well, and remember being totally enthralled with it then. I have to admit it was a page turner. But I would not pick up this book again. I think PG's use of sex/incest in many scenes is very vulgar. Granted that is what probably made this book more popular to the mainstream public, hence increasing popularity to Historical Fiction novels, I guess for that we can be grateful. But, a really good author shouldn't have to use shock factor in order to sell novels in the Historical Fiction gendre. If we want that, we could read romance or erotica...right? Anyways, I think PG overall is a good storywriter, she really can hook the reader and keep them on the ride. I enjoyed TCP and TBI much more than TOBG, these two books show that she can make a historical character come to life without having to use shock value as a crutch.

Juniper · Post by **Juniper** » Sat September 6th, 2008, 1:04 am

[quote=""Misfit""]
I agree about PG and the incest thing in her books. It's gotten way too old and I'm sick of it.

[/quote]

Which other PG books contain the theme of incest?

I can think of Wideacre, although incest was by no means a prominent theme. Any others?

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Tue September 16th, 2008, 2:14 am

I like this image better than the one they ended up with. Found this on Ebay, it was an ARC of the book:

SM

LCW · Post by **LCW** » Tue September 16th, 2008, 2:22 am

I"m in the "hated it" category! I do agree that it was a page turner but I finished it and immediately felt I needed a shower!! I didn't like the focus on incest, esp. because, from what I gather it's pretty much not true. And I thought Henry was portrayed as a mindless puppet that was too easily manipulated by the court. It was just too dark and sensationalized for my tastes. The premise was great but I think PG really ruined the story!