Three women who share one fate: the Boleyn Inheritance
ANNE OF CLEVES: She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a court ruled by the terror of a vengeful king who despises her. Her Boleyn Inheritance: accusations and false witness.
KATHERINE HOWARD: She is in love -- but not with the diseased old man who made her queen and beds her night after night. Her Boleyn Inheritance: the threat of the axe.
JANE ROCHFORD: She is the Boleyn girl whose testimony sent her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. Throughout Europe, her name is a byword for malice, jealousy, and twisted lust. Her Boleyn Inheritance: a fortune and a title, in exchange for her soul.
The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel drawn tight as a lute string about three women whose positions brought them wealth, admiration, and power as well as deceit, betrayal, and terror. Once again, Philippa Gregory is at her intelligent, page-turning best.
ANOTHER WINNER FROM GREGORY.....!!!November 21, 2008 The timeline of The Boelyn Inheritance follows that of The Other Boelyn Girl; Anne and George Boelyn have both lost their heads (literally) to Henry VIII....who is now poised to take yet another wife. The seemingly naive Anne of Cleves--who with her German accent and odd (to English eyes) manner of dress manages to alienate the aging, ill king in their very first meeting. It is, however, a political and strategic union (as most of them are)....but the king has taken an immediate dislike to his betrothed (caused of course by their unfortunate first encounter) and seeks reasons to break the marital contract. Meanwhile, a member of the Queen's court has caught the King's wayward eye; the very, very, very young and dim-witted Katherine Howard. In a tale told from three different perspectives--Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boelyn (the widow of George and sister-in-law of Anne) all detail their experiences with an increasingly paranoid king...living in denial as to his health and sex appeal, and surrounding himself with a royal court who are committed to reinforcing his delusions. And in a time where it has become increasingly dangerous to be a love interest of Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves proves that she may be even a might more clever than the original Anne. Chock full of scandal, betrayal, and deceit, The Boelyn Inheritance is a force to be reckoned with.
DYB
Another good installmentNovember 17, 2008 I enjoyed this sequel to The Other Boleyn Girl. Told from the perspective of three different women, it picks up after Anne Boleyn has been beheaded and tells the tale of Henry's successive wives. Full of intrigue and suspense as well as beautiful and mostly accurate descriptions of the place and time.
The madness of Henry VIIINovember 13, 2008 The Boleyn Inheritance continues where The Other Boleyn Girl left off. Henry is once again looking for a wife and this time he looks to Cleves. Anne's arrival to the English court follows intrigue, passion and more romantic drama as the perpetually fickle Henry falls for yet another lady in waiting to yet another queen. For those who enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl, this is a welcome addition but not necessarily as fast-paced. There is a lot of introspective repetition i.e. characters thinking out loud the same thoughts over and over again. Jane Boleyn's character touches the reader, as does that of Katherine Howard. Jane leaves a slimy, deceptive impression on you in the previous book but in this one, PG deliberately makes you confused in what you feel for her. The book is very well written and the characters are extremely strong in their impact. The story is obviously based on actual history with a few stretches. Towards the middle of the book, I felt... disgusted. Why? Well I felt disgusted with Henry VIII once again. It is amazing, the number of people he sent to the block and stake just because they did not agree with him. The helplessness of his people, family and his tyrannical rule almost put a fear over the reader. Every tale entwined in Henry's life starts with a castle and ends with the execution block. I think this disgust is PG's success in writing a very good book. I will now turn to something lighter, like fantasy!
To thine own self be true,October 28, 2008 This book is worth every dedicated minute of reading.
Its historically accurate, and if youve studied, or like anything about Tudor England or the Boleyns, this is a great insight and should be added your treasure trove!
A wonderful, WONDERFUL read!
It is told from the propectives of Anne of Cleves,(Wife #4 of Henry VIII) Jane Boleyn (Georges' Wife) and Katherine Howard (Wife #5). Which in the beginning I thought would be kinda confusing and chaotic to try and keep up with 3 storytellers, but DONT let that be a deturant. It flows, and each chapter is refreshing to have a different voice.
Get it and Read IT!
WonderfulOctober 11, 2008 Great and human writing showing this time in history. I read it again and again.
