The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory

Rating: ✫✫✫✫

As a History graduate, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with historical fiction. Every time I read a sentence, I question it's accuracy. I just can't help it! I've always steered clear of the genre because I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. I've always thought it would make me quite frustrated when elements of the plot didn't quite ring true. However I was persuaded by The Other Boleyn Girl, especially because the Tudor period in particular was one that I thoroughly enjoyed studying. This is, however, one of the only occasions I can remember where I've watched the film without first reading the book, and I'll admit that it was this that finally convinced me to try the novel.

I loved it. Nobody is more surprised than me when I say that, but I truly loved it. I knew the novel would contain a much more padded version of the story than the film, but I wasn't prepared for the sheer attention to detail. There was so much information in there that it actually did get a little tedious towards the end of the book. I appreciate that it's the nature of the story that it spans a number of years, but I do think there were areas that it could have been condensed to make it more enjoyable at the very end.

That being said, the characters were very well established (I flitted between love and hate in equal measures a lot of the time I was reading), and they developed in line with the drawn out plot. It also had the right amount of drama to it. Period dramas do tend to be naturally dramatic, but this had just the right tone. It was based on a real story, but reads like fiction because of it's flair. I know I'll be dipping back into Philippa Gregory's work in the future...

As a young girl of fourteen, Mary Boleyn catches the eye of King Henry VIII at court. As she is dazzled by him and becomes his mistress, she also begins to learn that behind every action is a political motive.

With her family using her as a pawn in a game of power, and her sister Anne repeatedly stealing the King's eye, Mary is encouraged to put aside her own feelings and sacrifice herself for the possibility of her sister grabbing the crown. As Mary watches her sister rise at court, she also notices how dangerous it is to be close to a volatile and powerful man. Will she come to realise that it may be better to be just the other Boleyn girl?

*spoiler alert*

The Plot

I think it's really important to remember that because this book is historical fiction, we have to consider whether it's historically accurate. Maybe that's just because I'm a History nerd, but I think it's so important that although the story is embellished, the fundamental plot points are based on facts. For example, Mary is said to have been about 20 years of age when she caught King Henry's eye - so why did this book feel the need to make her closer to 14? If it had been historically accurate, I would have understood. As it is, I find it very uncomfortable that Gregory made her such an unnecessarily young age. I use this example purely to point out that when reading the book and, indeed, writing this review, I took the plot points with a very large pinch of salt.

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What I did love, however, was the repeated foreshadowing that was played upon throughout the book. So many hints were given as to what we know was to happen, and this was incredibly effective. The dramatic irony is used to great effect, and I'm really pleased that it was included so strategically.

There are so many examples I could give of this. The first notable one is when Mary Boleyn suggests that Mary Tudor could reign alone.

"Anne gave a snort of disbelief, her breath a little cloud on the cold air. 'Oh, aye,' she said derisively. 'She could ride astride and learn to joust. A girl can't rule a country like this, the great lords'd eat her alive.'"

Little could she know that her own daughter would go down in history as one of the greatest rulers of all time, renowned for the fact that she did it without a man by her side. Another example is when Anne states that she would put her neck on the block for a chance with the King. When caught in the riots before she is crowned, Anne is accused by bystanders of enchanting Henry with sorcery - something which later contributed to her execution. It makes the whole story so much more dynamic when we can see this dramatic irony.

Another notable use of this is the continuous references to the Seymour family. They are mentioned in passing on multiple occasions, which sets up the final chapters of the novel perfectly; when Jane Seymour becomes Henry's new favourite. It is a constant cycle of mistresses. When Anne is told that Jane Seymour is to have her own rooms in Greenwich, we see that Jane has replaced Anne, just as Anne replaced Katherine. Anne even says:

"I hope she dies young. I hope she dies in childbed in the very act of giving him a boy. And I hope the boy dies too."

Not only do we read this as brutal, we also read it as remarkably good judgement. As we know, Jane did die young, while giving birth to Henry's son, who also passed away at a young age. Every bit of dialogue is so carefully crafted that it means something to the reader, and I think this really brought the book up another level. Without this, it would have been very enjoyable, but it wouldn't have been quite as interesting or dynamic.

The very end of the novel illustrates this point perfectly. Mary expects and believes that the King will intervene, and spare her sister from her beheading. This is very noticeably meant to take us back to the very beginning of the book, where Mary expected the same thing and was disappointed. These extra layers undeniably add to the impact of the plot, and I love that the continuous foreshadowing was utilised so well throughout the story. It really made me enjoy the whole thing more.

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Knowing the story of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as well as I do, I don't want to dwell too much on the actual story. As a lot of it is based on reality, it makes no sense to analyse how good the plot is. Yet what really stands out to me about this plot is the way it is dramatized so effectively.

The whole plot is very serious and tense. We worry for Mary Boleyn when she is being used as a pawn by her family. Then we worry for Anne when she cannot conceive a son for the King. We spend the entire book on the edge of our seats, knowing that things are not to end well. The drama and tension throughout add to this, culminating in an explosive finale, which is riddled with worry and stress from all of the characters.

"'I wish we could stay here like this, for always', Anne said dreamily.

'Do you?' I said, surprised. ' I was thinking that this is the worst night of my life. I was wishing that it had never started and that I might wake up in a moment and it could all have been a dream.'

George's smile was dark. 'That's because you don't fear tomorrow', he said. ' If you feared tomorrow as much as we do, you would wish that the night would go on forever.'"

The reader knows that these characters are right to dread the next day, as both George and Anne are, unbeknownst to them, to be later executed,. Yet the tension that is created through their dialogue makes the story so much more emotional. This is followed by the frantic way in which Mary and her husband William Stafford make their escape. It is truly tragic, but I wouldn't have expected it to be so due to the fact that I was already familiar with the story. That was the beauty of the narrative. Mary tells the story from her perspective, meaning that the emotions are at the forefront of the book. The entire book was crafted for this ending; the characters were built up purposely to make their inevitable fall seem so much more tragic.

"He had taken George, my beloved George, from me. And he had taken my other self: Anne."

The style of writing really made this book for me. Every word was carefully considered, and every word was, consequently, beautiful. Yet I did reach a point towards the end where I started to feel like we could have reached the climax a bit quicker. I do understand that is difficult due to the sheer length of the timespan - Anne was waiting to be married for a very long time. The first talks of betrothal, according to the novel, were in Spring 1527, and they were finally married in Spring 1533. I just feel that it could have been condensed a bit. Most of what we got during that time was much of the same action, and I wish this had been cut down a bit to make room for the ending. If I hadn't waited so long to get to the climax of the story, I think I would have appreciated more the beauty of the writing and structure. I would have been just as enraptured right at the every end as in the beginning.

The Characters

Having such well known characters to write about is difficult, because everyone will already have preconceptions of what they will be like. Yet I think the characters in this book were very well written - they were established clearly and developed noticeably throughout the course of the story.

Mary

Mary is the main character in the book, but she's also arguably the least well known in reality. This meant that there was the availability for some creative license on her part. I've already mentioned my feelings about her unnecessarily young age, but looking back, her character's development is what strikes me as the most important thing in this book.

From the very beginning, Mary was emphasised as a very moral, if slightly naïve, young girl. She struggles with what is right, and knowing the story as well as I did, I knew she was going to have a bumpy road ahead of her. When she is persuaded by her family to give in to the King, she very firmly states that she will not.

"'I can't do it,' I said out loud... 'Sir I am sorry, but I love the queen. She's a great lady and I can't betray her. I promised before God to cleave only to my husband, and surely I shouldn't betray him?'"

So she strays just a little bit from this through the course of the book. It's particularly notable that Mary feels guilty about what her presence as Henry's mistress means for Katherine of Aragon. Mary clearly admires the queen, and she turns noticeably resentful of what her family is making her do.

"I felt no triumph at all. I looked across the richly carpeted tent at a woman old enough to be my woman and felt nothing but pity for the pain I would cause her."

Yet she feels she must follow through with her family's plan. She goes from being innocent, to being used, to falling from grace and becoming wiser for it. In some ways, I feel that she ends up in exactly the same position as she began, but she appreciates a lot more what she actually has. When the King eventually overlooks her for her sister Anne, she originally is very upset at missing out. Yet she finally sees that her freedom is more valuable than she had ever realised.

Of her two husbands and her lover, Henry is the highest in the food chain, followed by William Carey, with William Stafford at the bottom. When Henry dismisses her, she realises she is happier with a less prominent man - William Carey. Yet when he dies, she states:

"Now I realised that his death had set me free"

The reason William Stafford makes her happy is because he allows her to be herself, and to be free. He sees her as more than just the other Boleyn girl. I liked him immediately, because he's the only person Mary had who put her happiness first. I also enjoyed how they referred to each other as Nobodies. The Mary in the middle of the story would have hated that label; would have hated to be insignificant. She grows through all the hardships she suffers, and she learns that happiness isn't about power or wealth.

Although I found her to be very annoying at several points in the story, I think her character was constructed very well. She went through a real transformation, and suffered a lot. You can see the points in the story that really shape her personality, and I think that's down to the careful way the author mapped out the timeline.

Anne

My immediate impression of Anne was that she was incredibly unlikeable. I found her arrogant, rude, and selfish. Then all of a sudden, I found her really endearing. I switched back and forth on multiple occasions, and never really resolved my feelings for her. Such is the character of Anne Boleyn. Right up until she was executed, she was difficult to make out, and that's what was so genius about the way her character was outlined. Mary is clearly kinder and a more moral person, but Anne was more charismatic, and less whiny. I often found myself on Anne's side. She was a bit of a mystery throughout the entire book.

Looking back, I see Anne as the reverse of Mary. Mary went from being weak and timid, and grew stronger as the story progressed. Anne seems to me to have actually been the other way around. She starts off proud and confident, and she grows to be a very vulnerable person. Her failed relationship with Henry Percy (for which I really felt for her), left her bitter and power-hungry, and this ultimately led to her downfall. She goes after the crown, caring little for what her sister feels. She shows no interest in Henry Tudor the person, referring to him as 'it', synonymous with the throne she has her eyes on. When she marries him and becomes pregnant with his daughter, she says quite bluntly:

"'What good is a girl to us?'" 

Not only is it hilarious for us to view this comment in light of the greatness that this little girl achieved, but this is also the beginning of Anne's downfall. She shows herself exactly as she really is; just a vulnerable girl. Her repeated miscarriages make her anxious and frail. You go from envying Anne's charisma to pitying her situation.

"'There is no freedom for women in this world, fight or not as you like.'"

Anne's path runs parallel to Mary's but in the opposite direction. Mary grows stronger because her position in life has declined. Anne grows weaker and more afraid because her position in life grows.

I love how these two sisters were written together. You don't see until the very end exactly how well crafted their storylines are, and how they are designed to fit together to demonstrate a vast contrast. 

Henry

One of the most famous men in British history must have been a challenge to write convincingly. I think therefore that it was wise to stick within what we already know of him; that he was an arrogant, brash and power-hungry ruler. Yet we see him through the eyes of Mary, whose vision of the King goes through an impressive transformation. The story begins with her as a very innocent and naïve young girl, so therefore we see Henry through this girl's eyes. Consequently, Henry is seen as an impressive man.

"a commanding hero from long-ago wars."

"This is a King who wants to do the right thing."

This is noticeably against popular opinion. As Mary grows wiser and experiences more hardships, her perception of Henry changes. We see his true colours only when she does, so the King is painted by Mary's opinion of him. I think this was really clever, as this really took the emphasis off Henry, who is obviously the most prominent character in history. We instead see him as a secondary character, and only when and how Mary wants us to. This not only gives us an idea of Henry's character, but also Mary's. When the King tells Katherine he wants an annulment, Mary says:

"He was coldly angry; today he had all the power of a grown man who has been a tyrant since eighteen."

She demonstrates through this statement just how much she has strayed from her former self; who insisted on seeing the good in people. Now she sees Henry's dangerous side, and so we see it too. When he names a boat after Mary she finds it sweet, until she later sees him give Anne a title - then she sees that he is just a boy chasing after a new toy. When he was done, Mary sees it, and so we see it too.

"He had finished with my sister. I saw it in that look. All I did not know was how he would be rid of her."

The way Philippa Gregory wrote her characters in this novel played a huge part in how much I enjoyed it. They all change so much throughout the story, helped no doubt by the long timeframe under which they are moulded. Being able to witness these huge developments made me feel as a reader much more invested in the story.

George

I feel that I can't write about the characters in this book without taking some time to discuss George. He deserved so much better than what he got, and I think I feel the saddest for him out of everybody.

Throughout the story, it is being set up that there is some sort of inappropriateness between him and his sisters. His wife suggests that he spends too much time in their bedchamber, and there are several points where the reader questions if there is something going on between George and Anne, despite his admitting his sexuality for the reader to see.

The way he and Anne speak to each other, and even the way Anne implies that there is incest occurring between them - I'm just not sure what to make of it. It is never explicit either way if there is or isn't something untoward between them. In reality, we may never know if there was any truth to the allegations that led to their execution, therefore it may have been difficult for Gregory to write decisively either way. However, it falls a bit flat to me to leave it so up in the air. The little details, such as their spending a lot of time together before bed, and Jane Parker making allegations, would have been enough. It wasn't really necessary in my eyes to add more fuel to the fire by having Anne make inappropriate comments. I wish it hadn't gone this step too far, as it took away from the true emotion and conviction for the reader when arriving at the harsh ending. Instead it just makes the reader clouded by uncertainty, and consequently failing to appreciate the ending for the tragedy it is.

Aside from this, I really thought George was one of the warmest characters in the novel. I was the saddest for him, because I genuinely felt that he deserved more than he was given.

The Themes

It's difficult when reading a novel with such a long timespan not to notice the different themes that are threaded through the story. These really add a lot of depth to the plot, and I think they deserve discussion.

The one that really stands out is the different relationships that develop between the characters, particularly when relating to succession of the royal line. We meet Henry right at the beginning of his very own cycle of wives, which is infamous in the modern day. However, the relationships that really interested me in this book were those between the different family members, particularly the Boleyns.

The family dynamic between Mary, Anne, their parents and their uncle is very disturbing. Their gatherings are unsettling, and the way they try to manipulate the King for their own ends is unpleasant to read about. The first thing that struck me was that we live in a totally different world now, and family bonds are centred more around mutual respect and an emotional attachment. When Anne, for example, was forced to abandon her marriage to Henry Percy, her family simply said:

"'Her heart has to break and her spirit has to break if she is to be any use to her family.'" 

In fact, I can find endless quotes that demonstrate just how horrendous the Boleyn family dynamic is. When Mary leaves her husband William Carey for the King, he tells her:

"'When you are sent back to me, perhaps a month from now, perhaps a year, I will try to remember this day, and you looking like a child, a little lost amongst these clothes. I will try to remember that you were innocent of any plotting; that today, at least, you were more a girl than a Boleyn.'"

Are the Boleyns so renowned for their scheming that he can say this so naturally? Apparently so. He knows before she does what will happen, and Mary in particular suffers for it. She herself says of her extended Howard family at one point:

"It is better that no-one ever knew that I would have buried the Howards, every one of them, except George, in the great family vault and never thought there was a loss."

Anne herself grows into this scheming, which we know leads to her downfall. She treats Mary as if she is insignificant, and is actually the one who coins the title of the book, by stating that compared to Queen Anne, Mary is just the other Boleyn girl. We even see George lose his patience with her after her many superior speeches:

"'Is that it?' he demanded, in a sudden rage. 'Is that all that matters? Not that I am in love and tumbled like a fool into sin. Not that I can never be happy, married to a snake and in love with a heartbreaker, but only, only, that Mistress Anne Boleyn's reputation must be without blemish.'"

After George confesses his sexuality, Anne grows angry at him for threatening her reputation. What a family they make. Yet I still see that these three siblings care for each other; they are together at least in their family's games. It is this that makes the family betrayal at the end so heart-breaking. They acted for their family over themselves, and it brought about their demise. This element is clearly emphasised throughout the story, and it really adds to the emotions that the reader feels. I felt so frustrated by their family for most of the book, and felt very emotional at the end when reading about how it destroyed them. The theme of family, so different to what we understand of it now, is a huge part of the dysfunctionality of the story.

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Following on from the theme of family, it's impossible to ignore the continuous rivalry between the two sisters. This deserves a separate conversation in itself, because it's perhaps the most important element of the entire plot. These girls are referred to repeatedly as 'The Boleyns'. Powerful. Notorious.

"The two of us, the Boleyn girls, walked in a if we owned half the castle."

"The Boleyns had everything to play for."

Yet as soon as the King is introduced to the mix, they are not so together any more. Mary draws him in, but Anne is very vocal about how she would be better suited to the task.

"'You're pretty enough and half in love with him which is helpful, but I doubt that a woman such as you could command him.'

'Who could do it?' I demanded, stung by her dismissal of me. 'You, I suppose?'"

The challenge is there from Anne right at the very beginning, and it does add intrigue. I could never say that Anne is wrong in what she says, either, but it is more the way she says it that causes such rivalry. Anne seems to know exactly what she is doing; she suggests right from the very beginning that she may in fact be the one to claim him. It is also important to note that Mary loved the man. Anne wanted the King and the crown, and could not distinguish the two. If Anne's jealousy of Mary's success with the King is what propels her into his path, then it is also her jealousy that is her ultimate downfall. She wanted the attention and the power it would bring her, and cannot see that this is a bad decision. When Mary worries that the King will come to favour Anne while she is pregnant, Anne is indifferent, and takes pleasure in telling Mary that she will be for ever more the other Boleyn girl.

Playing on this rivalry was clever, a I found I was a lot more invested in the story because of this element of competition (crazy really, as I already knew what happened). If this rivalry had been taken away, the plot may have fallen a bit flat. This is only my guesswork, but I don't think the story would have been half as interesting if these two sisters had been supportive of each other. In fact, I actually think it would have been relatively tedious. Introducing this interesting rivalry and milking it consistently was, in my opinion, a wise move.

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A final theme that I do think is really important to consider is religion. As we know from history, this is a major part of the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. There are regular references made to Anne's knowledge of religion, and what can be deemed right and wrong morally. Her brains appear to have an impact on the decision of which is the correct and truest course of action for Henry to take in dissolving his marriage to Katherine. Mary says of all these guidelines:

"'It would take a college full of theologians to decide which rule should take precedence.'"

Anne is set up as someone very knowledgeable, and this implies that she had a lot of influence over Henry's decision to seek an annulment. Whether this is true or not, we'll never know, but I think it was quite a shrewd move to make her partly responsible, at least in the confines of the book. It gives more depth to her character, and puts an interesting spin on the complications of Henry's decision, both in real life and in the novel.

The Verdict

Having studied the Tudors in quite a lot of depth in the past, I was a bit dubious about my capacity to enjoy this book. I felt that I would be criticising it a lot of the way through, and that would impede my ability to appreciate it. What I actually found was that it was written so cleverly that this wasn't an issue. 

Having the narrative written through Mary's eyes, we don't find much of a clash with facts. There are a few, granted, but as Mary Boleyn is a relatively little known person in real life, this wasn't really an issue. The plot was as I expected; generally true, and embellished to make it interesting to read. We will never know if all of the information is true, but that isn't what is important here.

The story is told in an interesting way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters were all very well constructed and developed; Mary had a journey to go on to realise what was really important, and the other characters changed when her perceptions of them did. I genuinely don't believe the characters would have worked as well if this was not the case, and I think it was a very smart move.

I can't deny that there are elements of the book that bothered me. It was lengthy - too lengthy. The characters' ages were changed unnecessarily, and there were sections that I found boring. Yet overall, I was really impressed by how much I enjoyed this novel. It was beautifully written, carefully constructed, and the story was certainly done justice. I imagine I'll be picking up another book by Philippa Gregory in the near future.