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What Members Thought
I really enjoyed this book, and I think Philippa Gregory did a good job of weaving History and Fiction together for an exciting read. I really am grateful that I was born into this time and not back in the 16Th century. :0)
The Boleyn's make interesting characters as does the womanizing Henry the VIII. After reading this, I think I will definitely be looking into some of her other books.
Now I need to see the movie, even though I hear it's been getting some very mixed reviews. I do like to judge f ...more
The Boleyn's make interesting characters as does the womanizing Henry the VIII. After reading this, I think I will definitely be looking into some of her other books.
Now I need to see the movie, even though I hear it's been getting some very mixed reviews. I do like to judge f ...more
BRILLIANT. I loved this novel so much, I couldn't put it down for 2 nights, staying up until 4am to read until I could keep my eyes open no more. It was unbelievably scandalous and did not drag on at all. I can't wait for the movie, although the prreviews don't look to be staying true to the novel... I guess we'll see =)
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I did like it (besides the fact that I can never seem to spell "Boleyn" right). For those who have no idea what it's about, it's written from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, Ann Boleyn's sister. It takes place during the reign of Henry VIII, so it's based on truth but with a fictionalized story interwoven. It is a story of one family's rise to power, and what they will do to get there.
There were times when I had to push myself to keep reading, so it wasn't always engaging, but that is normal for ...more
There were times when I had to push myself to keep reading, so it wasn't always engaging, but that is normal for ...more
This story of Anne Boleyn's rise and fall into Henry VIII's favor was historically accurate. Though it was long it was a fairly quick read, as the way Anne both depended on her family and used them as her pawns kept you pulled in. And though Anne is the historical character we all know, the story was told from the perspective of her sister Mary, who was at once her archrival and her best friend, who had a relationship with the King long before Anne entered the scene.
Though it's easy to hate Ann ...more
Though it's easy to hate Ann ...more
Well-written, suspenseful, and powerful at points, but a lot of the discussion of the sexism tends to create some sexist points of its own. Anne is so scheming and powermongering that it seems perfectly legitimate that she can't concieve a baby because she's "sinned". It reduces her to a womb in the way women very much were in that time - except we as readers seem to be expected to believe it, and are given little reason to like her or be sympathetic to her. Makes it a three star read when it wo
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Although I suspect I didn't miss much, I wish I had an unabridged version of this audiobook. I read the first of these stories, and am fascinated by the Tudor story...and medieval Europe, too. Since this is not my "go-to" genre it's always harder for me to breeze through these books, so I appreciated doing this as an audiobook.
Now I want to search some non-fiction to see how much of this is true to the Henry VII story, and what happens to the Boleyns/Howards afterward. ...more
Now I want to search some non-fiction to see how much of this is true to the Henry VII story, and what happens to the Boleyns/Howards afterward. ...more
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The book is a wonderful fluff book -- history, intrigue, royal politics, and romance. While the book is, in most respects, a soap opera set in Tudor England, it was completely engrossing to read. I'll definitely look out for the other books from this series for the next time I have a long plane or train ride. I'd recommend this to almost anyone.
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Normally the only books I like to read have to occur in the late 20th century. I've never been very fond of period pieces. Two reasons why I picked this one up: 1) I had heard from dear book friends that Gregory is a good author. 2) A close colleague at work was taking this book on the plane to Dubai. I loved this so much I went and bought the other 4 books in the Tudor series.
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I loved this book. It had it all family, scandal, sex, love, action. I went in thinking this book was going to bore me, boy was I wrong. I loved the characters, even Anne who I loved to hate. Mary was my favorite no matter how naive they tried to make her. I will be reading the other ones.
Again I'm not usually into historical fiction, but really enjoyed this which was given to me by my in-laws. Don't know how accurate her interpretation of history is, but she makes it entertaining.
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Feb 09, 2008
Katie
marked it as to-read
Re-read
Oct 15, 2008
Mita
rated it
it was ok
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review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2008,
historical-fiction
Jun 30, 2010
Yz the Whyz
marked it as to-read
