Book Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl is a historical fiction book that follows the life of Mary Boleyn. In the beginning of the book, Mary comes to court as a young, innocent girl of 14. She quickly catches the eye of King Henry VIII, who wishes to have her as his mistress. Mary maintains favor with the king for a time, eventually becoming pregnant with his child. Then, Mary’s sister, the famous Anne Boleyn, comes to court. She seduces the king, stealing him from her sister while her sister lies pregnant and defenseless. Mary will become witness to a turning point in history- the fall of an old queen, and the rise of a new- her own sister. The book ends with the historical moment of Anne’s execution and Mary’s near escape from court life.

This book is a great read for those people looking for an exciting story with plenty of romance woven throughout. The author, Philippa Gregory, seamlessly blends historical fact with bits of guesswork, making for a fairly accurate yet still always entertaining book.

This book was rated a 4.5 out of 5 because, while the language draws you in and the plot remains exciting and thrilling throughout the novel, it contains plenty of ‘mature’ content interspersed along the way. While some of this content may have been necessary to achieve a certain atmosphere about the story, it was overdone and overemphasised just a bit. I would not recommend this book to anyone under 14 for these same reasons. However, as stated above, this doesn’t make the book any less of a fascinating title and an amazing read.

Note: This book was made into a movie a few months ago. I WOULD recommend the movie, but I would also recommend reading the book first, as the book encompasses far more detail, feeling and history than the movie.