ANNE OF CLEVES: She runs from her tiny country, her hateful mother, and her abusive brother to a court ruled by the terror of a vengeful king who despises her. Her Boleyn Inheritance: accusations and false witness.

KATHERINE HOWARD: She is in love -- but not with the diseased old man who made her queen and beds her night after night. Her Boleyn Inheritance: the threat of the axe.

JANE ROCHFORD: She is the Boleyn girl whose testimony sent her husband and sister-in-law to their deaths. Throughout Europe, her name is a byword for malice, jealousy, and twisted lust. Her Boleyn Inheritance: a fortune and a title, in exchange for her soul.

The Boleyn Inheritance is a novel drawn tight as a lute string about three women whose positions brought them wealth, admiration, and power as well as deceit, betrayal, and terror. Once again, Philippa Gregory is at her intelligent, page-turning best.

I got this book for Chritmas and ever since opening it I can't put the book down. I would say that it isn't the best book that I've read by Philippa but the way this story is told it feels so real. I never feel as if I'm reading a historical novel that would put me to sleep; I feel like I'm reading a different novel, for example the twilight books. I get a story along with facts that wouldn't have ever known enless i pick up on of Philippa's books. All I'm really trying to say is that if you've read one of her books your sure to love this one just as much. And if your someone who hasn't yet gotten to read one of Philippa Gregory's books you'll be blown away by her and will want more.

The thing is, this was so obviously a sequel. There were so many mentions of previous queens, of better queens, of the good old days, and of "back when Henry was a golden prince and not a fat blob" that eventually I felt bounded over the head by the redundancy. It isn't Philippa Gregory's fault that history repeats itself, but when you're the fourth and fifth queens and you end up exactly the same way the first and second did, albeit with a lot less pomp and intrigue, it's hard to come up with anything fresh to say.

From the perspectives of three different women, we got, "Oh lord, I hope this doesn't end up the same way it did last time". This left me with a vague sense of impending doom that loomed over the book like a dark cloud, because, of course, we all know that things never end well for the wives of King Henry VIII. The difference here is that now the wives know it too.

This said, I didn't totally dislike the book. The short, crisp chapters from alternating viewpoints worked for me, because as soon as my attention span was starting to droop the narrative moved on to something else. I've always been a fan of novels in the first person, and this was no exception. Although there is no denying that the characters were somewhat two-dimensional, I still felt sympathy towards them and found myself hoping in spite of myself that somehow things would, impossibly, work out for them.

As far as disliked characters, I had the most trouble with Jane, whom I normally feel bad for in novels. If I, a sympathizer, found her constant moping about George irritating, I can only imagine what it did to everyone else. Remorse would have been fine, but a blatant denial that she was ever guilty in the first place, even if she was only using this lie to make herself feel better, seemed enormously ridiculous to me, and more than a little annoying as well.

In summary, I felt that The Boleyn Inheritance was a good book for what it was. Its downfall was that, as a historical novel, it was obligated to recount the events of history. They may be horrendous and depressing, but they are by no means new to us in this day and age where the Tudor era has become so popular. Henry may have been insane, but unfortunately for the modern reader the self-absorbed brat wasn't very creative. So, I think that perhaps it's time for Philippa Gregory to turn her often ingenious eye to a different era of history.

Philippa Gregory is in fine form as she continues her examination of the Tudor era with the stories of Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives (Anne of Cleves and Katharine Howard) as told by each other and their mutual lady-in waiting, Jane Boleyn (who as sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn helped send Henry's second queen to the block by testifying against her own husband (Anne's brother) and Anne.

We all know the story, but it's the insight into what made these women tick that keeps you coming back for more: Anne's determination to escape a domineering brother (only to find herself in peril from an even more dangerous husband), Katherine's childish cunning and ultimate cluelessness in pursuit of a prize that gives her no joy, and Jane's deluded hopes of finding happiness at the end of a path of betrayal. The use of alternating voices, often to describe the same events, works very well here. I'm a big Gregory fan and would not hesitate to recommend this book to others who enjoy good historical fiction.

This book, was a real page turner. there was never a dull moment in this hole book.

The timeline of The Boelyn Inheritance follows that of The Other Boelyn Girl; Anne and George Boelyn have both lost their heads (literally) to Henry VIII....who is now poised to take yet another wife. The seemingly naive Anne of Cleves--who with her German accent and odd (to English eyes) manner of dress manages to alienate the aging, ill king in their very first meeting. It is, however, a political and strategic union (as most of them are)....but the king has taken an immediate dislike to his betrothed (caused of course by their unfortunate first encounter) and seeks reasons to break the marital contract. Meanwhile, a member of the Queen's court has caught the King's wayward eye; the very, very, very young and dim-witted Katherine Howard.
In a tale told from three different perspectives--Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boelyn (the widow of George and sister-in-law of Anne) all detail their experiences with an increasingly paranoid king...living in denial as to his health and sex appeal, and surrounding himself with a royal court who are committed to reinforcing his delusions. And in a time where it has become increasingly dangerous to be a love interest of Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves proves that she may be even a might more clever than the original Anne. Chock full of scandal, betrayal, and deceit, The Boelyn Inheritance is a force to be reckoned with.



DYB