Set in 16th century England, The Other Boleyn Girl chonicles the life and role of Mary Boleyn, sister to Anne Boleyn, who was the second wife of King Henry VIII. Although historically she is largely forgotten in the wake of her more prominent sister, Mary Boleyn is shown in this book to be an equally capable temptress with dreams of her own. But throughout the book, the question lingers--how much of the girls' actions are dictated by their own desires, and how much are controlled by the girls' power-thirsty parents and uncle?
I loved this book. The plot and action were thoroughly engaging, which was a little impressive given the length of the book (nearly seven hundred pages!). There were so many sub-plots, so many coniving twists, that the action was constanly peaking, resolving slightly, then peaking again. Plus, as someone who has a sister, I could really relate to the sibling rivalry between Anne and Mary (although my sister and I would fight over toys, not kings). I also love the historical aspect of the novel--reading about a time period and lifestyle that is so drastically different from the one we live today is just fascinating to me. Granted, I realize the novel is not wholly historically accurate, but that tends to happen in historical fiction. That being said, though, the novel did inspire me to do some research on Tudor England because I was so captivated by the time period, so some of those inaccuracies were cleared right up.
Perhaps I was a little predisposed to enjoying this novel in the light of our recent trip to London (including the Tower of London, which is a setting for a few parts of the novel), but I think that even without that trip and some of the background knowledge it provided I still would have been thoroughly engaged by the novel. Regardless, I definitely plan to continue reading about this time period.
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