The Other Boleyn Girl
Philippa Gregory, 2001 HarperCollins

Anne Boleyn is a well known figure to anyone who was forced to study the Tudors at GCSE. We all know that she seduced Henry VIII, had 6 fingers and was beheaded as a witch so that Henry was free to marry Jane Seymour. But she, like all historical characters described in note form ready for regurgitation in exams, has always seemed a bit dry to me! The Other Boleyn Girl describes the events of the English court from Henry’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon to Jane Seymour from the perspective of Mary, Anne’ older sister.

From early years being manoeuvred into bed with the King, to Anne’s eventual beheading, Mary provides a naïve narrative as she discovers the limits of her control over her life and the workings of a court whose purpose was only to please. I really enjoyed the portrayal of the pettiness of court and the trials that young women had to go through just to please their family. In fact, it was a real page turner, and I was loathe to put it down on several occasions. I can’t vouch for how accurate it was, some of the dialogue seemed to me to have a modern phrasing, but I really appreciated the telling of a story that I knew in facts alone as a set of situations affecting real people.