The Boleyn Inheritance

4.5
Frankly this book was fascinating. I don't read historical novels so this was a new genre for me. Sure, some of it was invented of course, the author only has so much to go on, but I think she did pretty well with her own inventions blending with historical facts. Thanks to the back of the book, and if you know anything about the history of it at all, you know who will marry who and what will eventually happen. Still, it was not repetitive and the plot was well-paced. Gregory does a good job creating suspense with events when many know what will happen anyway. The blend of religious growths and cycles, political maneuvering, and the inner workings of the kingdom and select group created a dynamic, engrossing story.

I took a brief show more break from reading it last night to do some research on the wives of Henry VIII, as it spurred my curiosity for what really went down.

At first when reading the book I was annoyed by the often changing of viewpoints, but this became easier in time. All the characters were fascinating in their own ways, and my heart felt more for Anne. They all shared traits, but differences as well, connected to each other in various ways, responsibilities, and betrayals.

I have no idea if Henry was as stated in the book at that time - I imagine much of it is likely. I have to consider too that with how sick he was in the book, and how this was backed up by research when I did it, that it must have played a large part in his growing madness, moodiness, and severe actions. To have your leg slowly rotting for years and the painful things they had to do to it, the gout and chronic constipation, the rotting teeth (yech!), and all the ongoing politics constantly surrounding the kingdom, it's less of a surprise.

There is violence in the book but it's more mentally disturbing than visceral, and there's not much of it. The ending is dramatic and well played, leaving a hollow feeling but sticking as close to the source material as you should.

Again not something I usually read, so I'm delighted it was so engrossing, well-written in a lovely literary style, engaging with plot twists, bizarre hidden layers of people involved, and surprises. show less

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory is set in England during the reign of King Henry VIII. The reader is given first person narratives from Jane Boleyn (Lady Rochford, wife of George Boleyn and sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn), Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard.

Beginning in 1539, we meet Anne when she's the Duchess of Cleves. She's keen to escape her domineering brother and make the biggest match possible to become Queen of England. I really enjoyed this different perspective on Anne's life, her mindset and the way in which she navigated the challenges of coming to a land without knowing the language. Navigating the tricky court of Henry VIII was a real culture shock:

"Clearly, I will never be alone again for another moment in all show more my life." Page 59 Anne, Calais, December 1539

Anne's first meeting with the King was a disaster - as we know - but I enjoyed Gregory's interpretation of the events which have since become legendary.

Meanwhile, Jane Boleyn has been away from court following the execution of her husband and sister-in-law for treason in 1536. Jane is ambitious and a social climber, as becomes clear early on in the book:

"Once again I shall be at court. Once again I shall be the closest friend of the queen, a constant companion in her chamber. I shall see everything, know everything. I shall be at the very centre of life again, I shall be the new Queen Anne's lady in waiting, serving her as loyally and well as I have served the other three of King Henry's queens. If he can rise up and marry again without fear of ghosts, then so can I." Page 15, Jane Boleyn, Blickling Hall, Norfolk November 1539

Jane struggles with her role in the demise of her husband and sister-in-law and again the author offers a refreshing perspective on her motives. Jane strives to be Anne's confidant, all the while recognising the precarious nature of her union with the King:

"She will have to learn to obey him. Not in the grand things, any woman can put on a bit of a show. But in the thousand petty compromises that come to a wife every day. The thousand times a day when one has to bite the lip and bow the head and not argue in public, nor in private, nor even in the quiet recesses of one's own mind. If your husband is a king, this is even more important. If your husband is King Henry, it is a life or death decision." Page 124 Jane Boleyn, Greenwich Palace, 6 January 1540

Serving Anne of Cleves in court is Katherine Howard who is portrayed as a young, foolish, sexually active and extremely flirtatious young lady. Anne had been the subject of unkind gossip from the court when young Kitty Howard came to her defence:

"I was so grateful to her for that. She is a foolish, frivolous little thing but she has the cleverness of a stupid girl, since, like any stupid girl, she only thinks about one thing, and so she has become very expert in that." Page 189 Anne, Hampton Court, March 1540

Despite the age gap, Katherine is encouraged to flirt with King Henry and is naive about what might follow. Seeking the King's favour and her time in the limelight, she convinces herself:

"The other wives did as they had to do, their lives ended as God and the king willed; it is really nothing to me. Even my cousin Anne Boleyn shall be nothing to me. I shall not think of her, nor of our uncle pushing her on to the throne and then pushing her on to the scaffold." Page 257 Katherine, Norfolk House, Lambeth, June 1540

Meanwhile, King Henry takes his time setting aside Anne of Cleves and making her his sister in order to annul their loveless marriage. At the age of twenty-five, Anne is frustrated that she's done nothing wrong, yet by agreeing to the terms and saving her neck, the cost of staying alive is great:

"I will have to face a single life, without lover, or husband, or companion. I will have to face a lonely life, without family. I will never have a child of my own, I will never have a son to come after me, I will never have my own daughter to love. I will have to be a nun without a convent, a widow with no memories, a wife of six months and a virgin. I will have to face life in exile. I will never see Cleves again. I will never see my mother again." Page 288 Anne, Richmond Palace, 12 July 1540

Despite knowing the history and seeing it portrayed in multiple documentaries, drama series, movies and historical fiction novels over the years, Philippa Gregory managed to make me care for all three characters. The novel takes us right up to the point of Katherine's and Jane's deaths at the Tower of London in February 1542, with a jump in time of five years to 1547 and the death of King Henry, setting Anne free from his reach at last.

This book is part of 'The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels' series, previously known as the 'Cousins War' and 'Tudor Court' series and each of the 15 books can be read as a stand alone. The Boleyn Inheritance is Book 10 and I can highly recommend it. show less

This excellent Tudor historical fiction was made even better by outstanding narration on the Recorded Books unabridged audiobook. Gregory's book focuses on Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives, Anne of Cleves and Katharine Howard. Tying their stories together is Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, wive of George who was executed along with his sister Anne Boleyn, thanks in part to Jane's testimony. Jane serves as a lady-in-waiting to both Anne and Katharine.

Davina Porter narrates Jane, and her voice is perfect for the bitter widow who refuses to acknowledge her part in her own husband's demise. Gregory's portrait of the Germanic Anne of Cleves, voiced by Bianca Amato, is that of a not-unattractive, intelligent woman hampered by her sheltered show more upbringing, unfashionable style, and poor English. Gregory contrives a plausible incident for Henry taking an immediate dislike to Anne.

The highlight of this novel was Charlotte Parry's rendition of Tudor teenager Katharine Howard - at times overly excitable, at times sulky, always a bubbly airhead. Gregory started most of Katharine's narrations with "now, let me see...what do I have now?", an accounting of the materialistic girl's rising, then declining wealth. I loved the way Gregory had Katharine use the French "voila!" when realization dawned on the naive girl, and Parry did a marvelous job depicting Katharine's flirtations and growing passion for the king's aide, Thomas Culpeper.

Gregory's books have made me want to read more about these real people, including the ambitious and cruel Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Howard, kin to Jane and Katherine, who used them both. show less

I am becoming addicted to Philippa Gregory's novels. Impeccably researched and masterfully narrated stories of the women in the murderous court of Henry VIII, they hook the reader like a thriller. We know what happens to them, these women who are mostly used to further the ambition of the men in their families. They are killed, or discarded when no longer useful. Some lucky few escape, like Anne of Cleves and Mary Boleyn. Others, like little Katherine Howard, never stood a chance.

But it's Gregory's imagining of these women's inner voices that pulls us in. In this, the third of the Tudor Court series, the least-known of Henry's wives are given the ability to tell their own tale. Anne of Cleves is desperate to escape the cruelty and show more neglect of her family. Picked out by Thomas Cromwell as a means to ally England with Protestants in Europe, she is utterly unprepared for the real Henry Tudor. No longer the dashing prince beloved for his good looks and heroic sportsmanship, he rails in vain against his increasing age and toxic leg wound while gorging himself at dinner and lets himself believe Kitty, Anne's pretty young maid-in-waiting, is actually in love with him. Both women are treated appallingly by their families: neglected and ignored until they are seen to be of use. And now that Henry is able to remake England's laws and religion with impunity they, like all his subjects, are at his capricious mercy.

A third narrative voice comes in the person of Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn and wife to George. Their ghosts haunt her, the bright, shining, most beautiful pair ever to be seen at court. The part Jane played in their deaths, and the role she now assumes in the Queen's chambers under the auspices of her uncle Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, tell a story of a woman desperate for some power of her own.

I've already reserved a copy of "The Taming of the Queen", Katherine Parr's story, from my library. Can't wait! show less

I enjoy the history of this series more than I do the fictionalization, haha. The author does give a good view into what life would have been like in this time, and in the strata of society that these women move/live in, but I will say that the three narrators of this story could come across as whiny at times, especially Jane, and repetitive at times, but this is the tenth book in the Plantagenet/Tudor novels and I guess the author was getting a bit tired of it? Eh, still a good story, and shifting between the three perspectives kept things from getting too stale. 3.5/5 stars.

This installment in the Tudor series was Philippa Gregory at her best, giving life to some of the least known or understood characters of the Tudor era. Two queens, one perpetual lady-in-waiting and the ever cunning Duke of Norfolk make this story gripping and frightening.

First, there is Anne of Cleves, a twenty-four year old queen, who reigns some six months, but is savvy enough to survive being disposed of by Henry VIII, a feat that few of his wives could boast. Anyone familiar with her story must have wondered why she elected to stay in England after Henry set her aside for Katherine Howard and how she managed to become regarded as his “sister” after she had been his wife. We are mostly told by historians that he found her ugly, show more but Gregory’s explanations are far more believable and credible than that, and she gives this shadowy queen life.

Next, there is Katherine Howard, the fifteen year old, who is beheaded like her cousin Anne Boleyn, but with much less fanfare. Little is known in actuality about Katherine, with exception of an extant letter from her to her lover, Thomas Culpepper. Gregory makes her a pretty and foolish teenager, taken with the limelight and repulsed by the fetid old man, whom no one can deny Henry VIII had become. Again, there is no doubt that this is who she might have been, as plausible a portrait as anyone could draw without having more information to draw on.

The third woman we are allowed to see closely is Jane Boleyn. Ah, here much is known and even more imagined, but this is a portrait of Jane that is somehow removed from the cold and calculating portrait we normally see. Not that she is warm, or soft, or lovable, but she is, here, human and pitiable.

In fact, even Henry himself is different in this account than in any of the previous ones, but this incarnation seems to be the logical outgrowth of what has come before--a madman, and in many ways a monster. How else to explain a man who would bed a fifteen year old, thinking she desires him, or behead a seventeen year old girl because she does not.

I have three more installments in the Plantagenet/Tudor series and I am certain I will miss having another to look forward to when I have completed them all. show less

Yet another book about the Tudors. But with a twist. This book is told from the first person perspective, by three different women (Jane Rochford, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard). The widely different characters of the books make it an interesting read. Having read a lot of Tudor books, I knew the story already. I thought it was interesting how plausible and logical Philippa Gregory made the events appear when seen from the perspective of three women involved. I do think Lady Rochford was portrayed a bit too normal and sweet though. She must have been either a b**** or insane, or both. But I guess her actions must have seemed sensible to herself, and this being 'her' story I guess it's not too strange that her part in the events show more seemed a bit more normal than I would have liked.

I loved the naive and shallow character of Katherine and the sensible character of Anne of Cleves. This book is one of the few I've read that makes Anne of Cleves seem like a real and interesting person instead of a caricature, the smelly woman from Germany. I've read explanations of how sauerkraut can have that effect on women. Even if that were so, Henry VIII is hardly one to talk with his festering leg!! But if you can't get it up, blame it on the wife, right? That part of the story was very plausible as well: the anxiety of Henry desperately wanting an heir, the way the women handled his impotence, the way he tried to recover some of his lost youth by chasing after a young girl. The story made Henry seem human; both mad and tragic at the same time. Highly recommended. show less