Book Review: The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

My favorite genre of romance is historical novels which is why Philippa Gregory is a perfect author for me. Her novels are beautiful works of of fiction but with most of the historical facts correct.  Some things she will change to suit the fictional side of things and she will tell you in her author notes.

Gregory is the author of The Boleyn Girl, which was most recently turned into a movie and I have still yet to watch it!  I really need to run to Blockbuster for that but I keep hoping it shows up on HBO soon. I asked for several of Gregory’s novels on my Christmas list and received them so I am going through them slowly.

The Boleyn Inheritance starts a few years after The Boleyn Girl in 1539 in the court of Henry VIII. In typical Gregory style it is narrated by a few difference characters; Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boleyn. I was shocked to ‘see’ the changes in Henry VIII from The Other Boleyn Girl, read about the plotting of the different people around court, and sympathized with all three main characters.

It was a fast paced book and perfectly written, I adored it.  I have three more books from Gregory sitting in my to-be-read pile and I’m not quite certain which one I want to go for next!

If you are ready to read Philippa Gregory, I would recommend reading the The Constant Princess first, then The Other Boleyn Girl, and finishing off with The Boleyn Inheritance.

The Constant Princess is telling the tale of the first Queen Katherine, Catalina of Spain while The Other Boleyn Girl tells of Queen Anne and then later Queen Jane.  The Boleyn Inheritance tells of Henry’s fourth and fifth wives.

Have fun with Philippa Gregory!