Reviews
loved reading this authors take on how events played out with anne of cleves and katherine howard. i really like have anne of cleves pov as she seems to not be written about very much and she seems to be one of the most lucky of henry’s wives. i also liked seeing just how much of a chess game english court seemed to be and just how much people maneuvered around to gain what they wanted in politics or the king’s favor.
The Boleyn Inheritance is a worthy follow up to The Other Boleyn Girl, which I read first.
This book kept me hooked even knowing the barest of details from this point in history. I learned so much history from this book; going in, all I really knew about Henry VIII's wives was from that old rhyme: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Sure, that does account for minor spoilers, but Philippa Gregory is a master at her craft. This book was enthralling, even knowing the outcome of two of the characters (Queens Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard).
The author expertly presents three unique voices and switches POVs throughout. Even though I didn't like Jane Boleyn, (and I don't think you're supposed to) she was still a fascinating character, and I'm glad we had three first-person narrators. Each one is so different and it's hard to pick a favorite between Anne and Katherine.
Henry VIII is a formidable character, and when it comes down to it, each woman is just trying to survive him and his dangerous moods, whims, and wants. I thought the author did a wonderful job painting a portrait of England's politics and political landscape during this tumultuous time.
While this book is repetitive at times, meaning the characters' thoughts revolve around the same subjects over and over throughout the book, it was still fast paced and an easy read. I was as hooked reading this one as I was most of Gregory's novels that I've previously read. It may not be the strongest of her Tudor Court series of novels, but it's sure up there.
One small gripe that I've seemed to have with all of her novels, and maybe it's just me, is I cannot differentiate in my mind the different palaces and castles. Gregory never seems to describe any of the rooms, only opting to describe the outside of some of the palaces from time to time, so that even when the court moves to different locations, in my head everything looks the same. I do wish she would get a little more descriptive of the different palace's Queens rooms, dining halls, gardens and so forth. Again, maybe I'm the only one who has this difficulty. After all, I've never visited England and don't know much about this historic places to really get a better picture in my head while reading.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book. As I've found with her novels in this series, it can probably also be read as a standalone, but it makes a wonderful companion to The Other Boleyn Girl. I'm looking forward to reading more of these books!
Loved reading a book where Anne of Cleeves actually was a main character.
The three perspectives of this book provides an interesting insight to the events of the time. Each of these ladies shows a different part of the court of Henry VIII and how the standing someone has with the King can change everything. Anne of Cleves starts the book desperately wanting to be Queen of England and ends it thankful that she has escaped Henry VIII with her life, something that few of his wives managed. Jane Boleyn attempts to convince herself that she has done what was necessary to save her family and that her punishment afterwards is unjust, that people simply hate her for other reasons. Katherine Howard is a silly girl who is indulged far too often, those that allowed this are just as guilty of her later actions as she was. Anne of Cleves was stuck in a horrible situation, both at home in Cleves and once she arrived at the English court. She was completely unable to be herself until the King had released her, even then she had to be careful not to anger him. Anne was unfairly set aside by the King. But her agreeableness is what saved her life. By not insisting that their marriage was valid and allowing him to set her aside, she escaped his wrath and was able to live a comfortable life outside of the court. Only when the King was truly gone was she able to relax, she lived in constant fear that he would change his mind about her and decide that he must kill her as he had done with other wives. Jane Boleyn is a curious person to follow, especially seeing how her mind worked. The author chose to make her mad from the beginning, at least in my opinion. It appeared that Jane was delusional from the start of the story. She genuinely believed that she was trying to save her husband, George, and her sister-in-law, Queen Anne, when she gave witness against them. She insists upon this whenever she is questioned about her past. That stays with her until the very end when she refuses to acknowledge her own fault in the events that occurred with Queen Katherine. Katherine Howard is a sad woman to follow, especially if you know the outcome of her life. She was allowed to run wild as a child and teenager, never seeing any real punishment for her mistakes. This was only worsened when gained the King's favor and later became Queen. She was every bit the spoiled child that Jane Boleyn describes her as. She should have been surrounded by ladies that could teach her grace and decrease her wild behavior. Instead her ladies were similar to her, that is what ultimately led her down a bad path. She is one of the few Queens who caused her own downfall and was not unjustly accused of crimes. All of these women were dealt unfair hands because of King Henry VIII. Katherine may have caused her own downfall and was genuinely guilty but she was a product of her upbringing. She was raised without a guiding hand and allowed to become a spoiled brat, something Henry enjoyed until it turned her into an adulterer. Anne was a bartering chip for her brother and treated as such, she only found true freedom in her life once Henry was dead. But she was lucky in escaping his ire when she wisely agreed that their marriage was not a true one. Others would have argued and gotten themselves killed on whatever charged he could imagine but she managed to survive. Jane was lucky to survive the deaths of George and Anne by giving witness against them but she still found herself caught up in an actual plot this time. She was so blinded by proving that she could be useful to the Howards that she damned herself. Reading about the Tudor court always brings a little sadness. So many of these women were stuck in situations that they did not want and were actively trying to escape. But they were women and were at the mercy of the men in their lives, especially their family members who often used them as pawns. That is how this entire book felt, like a chess game between Thomas Cromwell and Norfolk. They were just using the women of the court as their pawns instead of treating them with the respect they deserved.
A 2-star rating might be generous for this book. I've read several of Philippa Gregory's books and most of them are excellent, making this one even more of a disappointment. The story is told from 3 points of view: Anne of Cleves (wife #4), Katherine Howard (wife #5), and Lady Rochford (Anne Boleyn's former sister-in-law). It covers time period from the Henry VIII's betrothal to Anne of Cleves through the executions of Lady Rochford and Katherine Howard. (I don't count the executions as spoilers since most of know the fates of Henry's wives). The problem with the book is two-fold. The characters spend too much time with internal dialogue where they tell the reader what they did and how they felt about it. Whatever happened to "show, don't tell"? This robbed the story of emotional impact as it reads like a diary - or rather like a log of one's actions and thoughts. The other problem was repetition. I think the book could easily have been 1/2 the length if someone had cut all of the repetitious phrases out. How many times must the reader endure Lady Rochford prattling on about how she loved her husband and testified against him and his sister, Anne Boleyn, to try to save them? Or Anne of Cleves moaning and groaning about her disasterous first meeting with Henry? Or Katherine whining about being married to an old fat man? How many times do the characters have to state that Henry is a "madman" or a "monster"? We get it, already! There are many other much better books about Henry's court and the Boleyn family, including Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl. I would recommend readers pass on this one.
