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The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory : Book Review

The Other Boleyn Girl (2001)
By Philippa Gregory 

667 pages (Kindle Digital Edition) 

Genres : Historical Fiction, Tudors, England, Boleyns.

Rating : 4/5 

I am reading this book after Wolf Hall. It adds a lot of context and familiarity to the plot. But I didn't see Anne's disgrace coming. I didn't expect her fate to end in such a tragic state. Spoken in the narrative tongue of Mary Boleyn,  the book takes us through the historical romance of Henry Tudor with Mary herself, with Anne Boleyn - her elder sister even while he was married to Katherine of Aragorn for over 20 years and waiting for the marriage to be annulled. 

Henry Tudor has been married long time to Katherine of Aragorn and he hasn't got a son on her. He only ever got a daughter followed by a stream of miscarriages or still births. Disappointed and with a wandering eye, he takes Mary Boleyn who is married to William Carey as his lover. They have two children - a girl and a boy. But to avoid him getting distracted while she is carrying, her uncle sets up her competitive and over ambitious sister Anne to steal the king's attention. She does it too well..becomes his muse and mistress..they fight a lot and make up all the time..eventually they get married overruling what the church of Rome or pope might say. Anne is suspected to have caused the deaths of multiple people close to Katherine by poisoning in the process. Katherine herself dies in exile clearing a way to the king and new queen. Despite multiple attempts the king and Anne cannot make a son .. she hides her miscarriages..she must have resorted to sorcery to beget herself with a child and gets found out..her relationship with her brother is questioned.. 

Mary, a silent spectator to all the hell breaking loose .. taking care of her kids and married a third time to a man who is not hungry for power.. her character was portrayed quite differently in the Wolf Hall.. it was as a loose woman we see her but obviously being the narrator, we see her in positive light in this book. 

Overall, I felt a little bored at the beginning .. but the book caught up pace and speed with time.. especially as Anne is falling out of favor with the king, things started getting spiced up for me. I liked the style of writing.. this is my second book of Gregory and I am not disappointed. :) 
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