The Constant Princess

Summary: Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to parents who are both kings and crusaders. At the age of three, she is betrothed to Prince Arthur, son and heir of Henry VII of England, and is raised to be Princess of Wales. She knows that it is her destiny to rule that far-off, wet, cold land.

Her faith is tested when her prospective father-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur's wife grows ever more bearable. Unexpectedly in this arranged marriage, a tender and passionate love develops. 

But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur's young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. His father and grandmother are against it; her powerful parents prove little use. Yet Katherine is her mother's daughter and her fighting spirit is indomitable. She will do anything to achieve her aim; even if it means telling the greatest lie, and holding to it

About:

Author: Philippa Gregory

Pages: 393

Published: 2006

Review:

Rating:

/5 stars

Brief Gaudy Hour

Summary: The enigmatic Anne Boleyn comes to life in this charming, brilliant portrayal by acclaimed British novelist Margaret Campbell Barnes. 

The infamous love of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn undertook a rocky journey from innocent courtier to powerful Queen of England. A meticulous researcher, Margaret Campbell Barnes immerses readers in this intrigue and in the lush, glittery world of the Tudor Court. The beauty and charms of Anne Boleyn bewitched the most powerful man in the world, King Henry VIII, but her resourcefulness and cleverness were not enough to stop the malice of her enemies. Her swift rise to power quickly became her own undoing.

The author brings to light Boleyn's humanity and courage, giving an intimate look at a young woman struggling to find her own way in a world dominated by men and adversaries.

About

Author: Margaret Campbell Barnes

Pages: 383

Year Published: 1971

Review:

I found this novel to be historically accurate from what I know; I, myself, am far from a master historian. I just had a minor issue with the year of birth this book used for Anne Boleyn: 1503. Historians are thinking it to be 1501 or 1507 (my personal belief is 1507). However, I didn't count this against the book. 

Brief Gaudy Hour definitely gave Anne a further sense of 'humanity,' which I enjoyed. After all, no matter what people say about her today or even in her time period, she was only a human being. I enjoyed reading the way she was portrayed in a more sympathetic light, as I personally believe she was a good person.

My only issue with this novel was that at times the writing style was 'old' and could be boring. Parts and thoughts of characters could sometimes ramble on, which I did not enjoy, and I often would skip a couple redundant sentences here and there. However, minor flaws did not ruin the book for me; I still found it an enjoyable and suspenseful read about the tragic Queen Anne. 

I would recommend this book to any Tudor England novel readers, or perhaps fans of Anne Boleyn like myself.

Rating:

4 stars/5 stars

Doomed Queen Anne

Summary: Though born without great beauty, wealth, or title, Anne Boleyn blossomed into a captivating woman. She used her wiles to win the heart of England's most powerful man, King Henry VIII, and persuade him to defy everyone--including his own wife--to make her his new queen. But Anne's ambition was her fatal flaw. This is the true story of the girl everyone loved to hate. 

About:

Author: Carolyn Meyer

Year Published: 2004

Pages: 230

Review:

Obviously, this was a young adult novel written for children of about 12-12+, and so you can't expect an incredibly complex vocabulary or a story dripping with intense drama and ridden with sex scenes. However, I do think that given the intended age group, this book was wonderfully written. I found it easy to follow and well-written; it was a great overview of Anne's live from 1520-1536, and, unlike a Philippa Gregory novel, I found it to be quite accurate. This novel is great for anyone interested in Anne Boleyn and looking for some truth about her, or any first-time Tudor England novel reader. 

There isn't much to say about this novel, really. It got me started/hooked on Tudor England historical fiction works, and started my obsession with Anne Boleyn in the seventh grade. I think it's a great read for anyone interested in the time period, especially if you don't know where to start. Start here, maybe?

Rating:

5 stars/5 stars

The Other Boleyn Girl

Summary:

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.

About:

Author: Philippa Gregory

Year Published: 2001

Pages: 661

Review:

All that I took away from this book, was that Philippa Gregory hates Anne Boleyn (although I can't imagine why), and so to write a book that makes a kind, benevolent, beautiful and purely innocent woman appear a shallow, petty, selfish, stuck-up, and desperate adulteress, she put aside fact and created a work of utter fiction.

I hated this book, honestly. I adore who the Queen Anne Boleyn truly was (not the dark, Hollywood-ized versions of her), and the history of Tudor England, which this book had none of. Another flaw of this novel (one of many) is that Mary Boleyn wasn't such a huge part in Anne's life; sometimes they went years without seeing the other. Henry and her did have a quite infamous affair, but he never acknowledged that Catherine and Henry Carey were his bastards as he did Elizabeth Blount's Henry Fitzroy.

Mary wasn't all that sweet. She was the mistress of two kings (Henry VIII and Francis) after all. When banished from court, she wasn't happy to live the modest life of a farmer's wife - give me a break! She sent a letter begging to be allowed back to court.

Gregory also strongly implies in this book that in Anne's desperation to produce a male heir for Henry, she slept with her own brother and others. This was so untrue. Here are just a few reasons why Anne would never commit adultery:

1) Anne was very religious and did not want to ruin her chances at a happy afterlife by sinning so terribly against her husband and God.

2) She loved Henry and was faithful to him from when they were young and courting, to older and unhappily wed.

(Also, one has to take into account that Henry was desperate for a male heir, and for the younger and perhaps prettier and sweeter Jane Seymour: he would do anything, including charge Anne for adultery, to get rid of her, make Jane his wife, and have sons. Whether Anne was guilty or not, he didn't care. For all we know, he knew Anne was innocent, but he was so terribly desperate for a boy, and perhaps even a touch mad.)

Back to the book though, of course.

Now for the few things I liked about this book. While her portrayals of the characters were terrible and totally inaccurate, I did enjoy her style of writing. (No one can deny Gregory is a fine writer and storyteller). If there was a hint of truth in it, I would have liked this book, I honestly would have. She seemed to write about events happening well enough, although really all this book was, was sex scenes, talk of 'whore tricks,' and other crude things.

I wanted to like this book; I really did, considering it's sadly the most famous, iconic novel of Tudor England/related to Anne Boleyn. It honestly grieves me that, because of this book, so many have the wrong idea that Anne was a bitch and a whore, which she wasn't.

So, to conclude, who would I recommend The Other Boleyn Girl to? Perhaps those who already have their minds made up about hating Anne Boleyn. This book would be perfect for you. But, to those with common sense and who enjoy real historical fiction, I would recommend not reading this book. Especially to Anne Boleyn fans; it would really just be too painful to read how she was portrayed in this book. I know it was painful to me.

Alas, this book was more fiction than historical fiction.

I am very sorry to those who liked this book; I actually didn't.

Rating:

1 star/5 stars