The Other Boleyn Girl-Book Review

So I have become addicted to Phillippa Gregory books. This is the third one I have read and by far my favorite. As you all know I am a history teacher so historical fiction is very much a new favorite style of mine. What I liked most about this book is that it is from the prospective of Anne Boleyn's sister Mary. Who was also a mistress of Henry and who gave birth to two of his illegitimate children. I loved not only the interplay between the sisters and their constant competition both for their family's attention and the kings. Another aspect of the book that I was especially drawn to was the constant theme of women and women's roles in this time period. It was a great look into what was a woman's role and was she really in charge of anything. In the novel you see the main character grow up from a young girl of 14 when she begins her affair with the king (shockingly she is already married at this point) and then into her late twenties. As she ages in the book you see her change from a young girl who does exactly what her family says, including bedding the king to an adult woman who stands on her own and distances herself from her family just in time to escape being included in the tragic death of her sister Queen Anne and her brother. This was a great story not only of the sisters but also of the rise and fall of the famed Anne Boleyn.