"The Boleyn Inheritance" by Philippa Gregory

This is the third book I've read from the awesomely talented writer Philippa
Gregory, and it is one of her best, as well as one of the best I have read all year
from anyone writing in the historical fiction genre. Since the Tudor period is of
particular interest to me, I have read her book "The Other Boleyn Girl," about
Mary Boleyn, Henry VIII's mistress before he married, and later beheaded her
more ambitious sister Anne. I have also spent much of the summer reading
through several Karen Harper books, which also cover life in England during the
reign of the Tudors.

That said, this book is brilliant because it deals with the lives of three women who
all have a piece of "The Boleyn Inheritance". The three women in question are
Jane Boleyn, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, two of whom end up dead
by the end of the book.

First there is Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn's beloved brother George,
who is killed along with Henry's 2^nd wife after they are accused of adultery, incest
and treason. Jane really inherits George's title, which was Lord Rochford, so she
remains Lady Rochford throughout the book. She also gets to keep the Boleyn
family lands and house because she testified against him and his sister, the
Queen, in their trial. Throughout the book, Jane is tortured by her testimony
against her sister-in-law and husband. Still, she is led in her current course of
action at the King's court by the Duke of Norfolk, Anne Boleyn's powerful uncle,
the man who helped make her queen, and also was a judge at her trial in order to
save his own skin.

Then there is the Queen to follow Anne Boleyn to the throne - Anne of Cleves,
"the Flanders mare" who was forced into marriage with Henry VIII by her duty to
country (which wants to make a political connection with England), as well as her
desire to escape an unendurable situation at home, where her brother takes his
many frustrations out on her. Unlike the first Queen Anne who married the king
while he was still in his prime, this Anne fs in the unenviable position of marrying
the overweight and ailing old king. Anne of Cleves Boleyn inheritance is that
Anne Boleyn, through her desire to be Queen instead of Henry's first wife, has
taught the king that he is the most powerful man in the kingdom, and his whim is
law. As a result, he marries Anne of Cleves, but then protests that their marriage
is illegal, and declares her to be his sister, an action which convinces this Anne
that Henry VIII is not only all-powerful, but also a complete madman.

Lucky for her, one of her maids-in-waiting is the nubile Katherine Howard, the third person who receives an inheritance from Anne Boleyn whom Gregory shows us through these biographical vignettes. Even while Anne of Cleves sits beside Henry on the throne of England, the old king makes his plans to divorce Anne and marry Katherine, who makes him feel young again. Anne constantly fears for her life, but it is Katherine who falls into Henry's deadly trap, and Gregory portrays her as the greedy and stupid little teenager she may well have been. A mere puppet to the ambitions of her Uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, and her cousin, Jane Boleyn, Katherine agrees to marry the king for gowns and jewels. Her family members want her to be queen so they can come back to the power position they occupied when grasping Anne Boleyn was Queen. Katherine's "Boleyn Inheritance" is not only the throne, which she occupies for a very short time, but also the scaffold, where like her cousin Anne Boleyn, she dies at Henry's whim. In this novelization of historical fact, it was fascinating to hear the story behind several Tudor queens who rise and fall in the glittering but dangerous court of Henry VIII. His son Edward, and daughters Mary and Elizabeth play only a small part in the story, but all are portrayed sympathetically, more as chess pieces than people in the elaborate game their father Henry VIII plays.

In summary, this is a book that should be read by everyone interested in Tudor history, especially that of Henry's 4th and 5^th wives, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, about whom less is know than his other wives. At over 700 pages (large print edition), it should have seemed long, but it didn't. Gregory's portrayal of the 3 women is so rich with psychological depth, and her writing so brilliant, as she changes the voice with each narrator, that it was a pleasure to read almost every word. A truly magnificent work by a truly brilliant writer.

Submitted by Gerti