The Other Boleyn Girl
I had a rough start with this one, but it eventually drew me in. As an historical novel, I really didn’t like it so much; there were only ever little nods to authenticity, such as the women spending much of the day embroidering an altar cloth, or little references to clothing and such. Unfortunately, those moments felt a bit contrived, as if the Philippa Gregory was struggling to remind us that the story is set in a very different time from our own. And she needed to because nothing in the story really helped set it in its proper time period. The dialog was incredibly modern as well as the characters’ attitudes for the most part. Like most historical novels I have read recently, the author has suppressed historical accuracy for the sake of creating a feminist perspective. Yes, it irks me.
That said, I couldn’t help but get drawn in, not by the main character of Mary Boleyn, but by Gregory’s portrayal of Anne. Mary was a rather bland character to me, swinging wildly between submissive obedience actions and radical feminist outbursts of thought. Anne, on the other hand, is one sided, but at least interestingly so. I had always thought of Anne as the wronged lover, after all, the charges trumped up against her were rather ludicrous. After reading Gregory’s version, however, I think that maybe my opinion of Anne has been heavily influenced by our culture’s romantic of that time period. I still can’t accept Gregory’s premise that Anne really was guilty of all that she was accused of, but I’m open to the idea that she was manipulative, purposely maneuvering herself not only into the king’s bed but also into Queen Katherine’s place. It must have taken quite a powerful family and an ambitious young woman to depose a Spanish princess, and English queen, an to change the entire political and religious organization of the time. It really is very fascinating.
On a final note, I have some very strong cautions on the mature content of this novel. One thing that I think Gregory does very accurately (mostly because this is the modern attitude as well) is portray the loose morals of the court. Not only affairs and sexual acts described, but the novel also touches on the topic of homosexuality. Although these are accurate depictions, they are not necessarily suitable reading material for some.
April 24, 2007
Posted in: fiction, historical fiction
One Response
Ah, I’ve been waiting for your review. You confirm a lot of what I’ve suspected, particularly this:
“…nothing in the story really helped set it in its proper time period. The dialog was incredibly modern as well as the characters’ attitudes for the most part. Like most historical novels I have read recently, the author has suppressed historical accuracy for the sake of creating a feminist perspective.”
That’s precisely the feeling I got when reading how other bloggers raved about it. (I can’t get that sentence right!) I just knew it would be another one of those.
That said, interesting about Anne. While I know the outline of events I’ve never studied the personalities involved and have no opinion of Anne’s motives. Still, that does seem to be counter to the prevailing thought. Although it might be suspected, given the title of the novel. To me, it implicates that the “other” one is just as important or even more interesting than attention-grabbing Anne. You mileage may vary.
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