Book Review: The Boleyn Inheritance

Title: The Boleyn Inheritance
Author: Philippa Gregory
Published: 2006, Touchstone
Rating: 5/5

In this novel Gregory embarked on a journey to tell the story of the more fortunate fourth wife and the less fortunate fifth wife of Henry VIII. Told from three compelling and beautifully crafted POV the reader experiences the inner thoughts of Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and the infamous Jane Boleyn. 

Anne of Cleves marries the King of England out of duty to her brother's kingdom. Everything goes splendidly wrong for her. The King abhors her and is unable to consummate the marriage. Fearful for her life, she agrees to the terms the King sets for the marriage to be annulled. She will be his "sister" and the highest lady after the Queen and the King's two daughters. She will have an allowance and her own small court. She discovers with unexpected joy the advantages of becoming a discarded wife. 

Jane Boleyn is the infamous wife of George Boleyn and sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn. She will do anything to get back to court. She will lie and tend to the needs of her family and of herself. She lives half in the present and half in the past. She is a murderess without committing murder.

Kitty Howard is a young girl. She cares only for clothes, jewels and looking pretty. She is shallow and the petted fifth wife. She is perhaps the most tragic of the wives, for her childhood upbringing will be her downfall. Against better judgment, she listens to the advice of Jane Boleyn and their uncle. Who could blame a young girl for taking a lover? Who can blame a young girl who cried out "I die a Queen but I would rather die the wife of Culpepper" when married to a beast like Henry VIII?

Gregory shows her readers that history is never truly in the past. History affects the present and the future. What happened in England when Henry VIII was on the throne with his second wife would haunt his future wives, his children, and England for years. The life of those in the royal circle always had to be wary of the past as they were of the future. 

Gregory has made me consider this aspect in my own novel. The present circumstances of my novel have been influenced by events that took place before the start of my story. The political plots in my novel are born from past incidents in my characters' lives. Sibling rivalry, favored children, jealousy, a sense of injustice, and ambition are just some of the elements influencing my characters and their political word. Those raised and involved in ruling families, I believe, had a very different mentality. These psychological influences from their childhood would show through in their adulthood and would determine what kind of rulers they would become.

Book Review: Old Magic

Title: Old Magic
Author: Marianne Curley
Published: 2000, Simon Impulse, Imprint of Simon & Schuster
Rating: 4.5/5

I first read this book eleven years ago when I found it at my local library. I found a paperback copy at the bookstore a month ago and was so excited it was still in publication! Since this is one of the novels that introduced me to the world of young adult fantasy I picked up a copy. One of my greatest pleasures is rereading novels that influenced my early writing days.

Kate Warren has no history and is a social outcast. Abandoned by her mother, she has been raised by her grandmother who practices the "old magic". In the small town where she lives, she is accepted only by her best friend and grandmother. Not much changes or happens where she lives until the day Jarrod shows up.

Jarrod is cursed. Kate probes his mind and discovers he has immense powers. Jarrod doesn't believe in anything that doesn't follow his "rules". However, as more misfortune befalls his family, he opens up to the idea, perhaps, there is a curse. Even when he is transported back in time with Kate he still can't accept the fact he has a gift himself. What will it take to make Jarrod accept his gift?

Curley has created likable characters whom the readers can inhabit, as she crafted the novel from both Jarrod's and Kate's POV. Readers will feel Kate's frustrations and Jarrod's reluctance to open up. Her plot is well done, entertaining, and will make the reader wanting to know more and more. So much so, I still wish there was a sequel!

Book Review: The Constant Princess

Title: The Constant Princess
Author: Philippa Gregory
Published: 2005, Touchstone
Rating: 5/5

What if you told a lie so great it altered the course of history? Catalina is sent to England to marry Arthur, Prince of Whales, to seal the alliance between England and Spain. Alone in a foreign country she is blessed to find a lover in her husband. Blessings do not last long. A widow at 16, she makes a promise on the Prince's deathbed that she will marry his younger brother, Prince Henry. Here, Gregory brings in the twist of what could have happened in history or actually did happen.

What if Catherine of Aragon did indeed lie about her virginity? It makes one wonder how much of our history could be a lie. Gregory will invoke her readers to think beyond the pages of her stories into the psyche of humans. What would you do if you were an ever constant princess?

Book Reviews: The White Queen & The Red Queen

Title: The White Queen
Author: Philippa Gregory
Published: 2009, Touchstone
Rating: 4/5

Elizabeth Woodville catches the eye of Edward IV, a King who is not yet secure on his throne, and never will be. The War of the Roses rages throughout their reign. Family betrayal and forgiveness makes the white roses of York red with blood. Elizabeth is desperate for peace but also wants revenge against those that have taken her family and her sons' inheritances. Elizabeth's strong and haunting voice tells the story of her greatest joy and tragedy as the mother of the lost Princes in the Tower. Gregory's descriptive and grounding scenes will bring her readers to court, the battlefield, sanctuary, and the reunion of a mother and her son.

Title: The Red Queen
Author: Philippa Gregory
Published: 2010, Touchstone
Rating: 5/5

At the age of 9, Margaret Beaufort had a "saint's knees" from praying too much and wanted nothing more than to be like her idol, Joan of Arc. At the age of 12, she is married to Edmund Tudor and soon finds herself a pregnant widow. Her only child becomes her greatest love. She will do anything to keep him safe. She will do anything to give her son his true inheritance: the throne of England. From the voice of small child to that of a wise and cunning adult, Gregory brings Margaret to life. With England in discord between the warring houses, Margaret has everything to gain for herself and her child from God, or perhaps, veiled ambition.

Being Released in October 2011!

"The Lady of the Rivers", a novel about Elizabeth Woodville's mother, Jacquetta.

Available at Amazon.com

Book Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

Title: The Other Boleyn Girl

Author: Philippa Gregory

Published: Touchstone, 2004

Rating: 3.5/5

Gregory has fully mastered giving a voice to her character and pulling her readers into the Tudor time era, the enormous liberties she has taken with historical events did her novel no credit. If a reader was to approach “The Other Boleyn Girl” purely has a work of fiction, they might readily enjoy this novel. Those that have prior education on the Tudor era might have a harder time enjoying this book.

Mary Boleyn, at the tender age of 15, is forced to cuckold her husband, William Carey, by becoming the mistress of Henry VIII. Forced to accept her fate for the advancement of her family, she bears the King a daughter and then a son. While she labors in childbirth her sister, Anne, steals the attentions of the King. Weak with lust and love the King breaks away from the Church of Rome in his will to marry Anne.

While I applaud Gregory for telling her interpretation of the life of Mary Boleyn, her distorted representation of Anne Boleyn is slanderous. While Anne Boleyn did indeed wish for Katherine of Aragon’s death and treated Mary Tudor in a horrendous manner, she never did seek custody of her sister’s son. For that matter, Henry Carey, the son of Mary Boleyn, was more than likely not the son of Henry VIII. Nor did she commit incest with her brother, which is implied in several scenes throughout the novel.

I admire Gregory’s ability to weave the “what if?” into her novels but I have enjoyed this work less than her others. I am not saying this is a poorly written novel; on the contrary, it is a well written story if you only approach as a story. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend a historical fiction novel about Mary Boleyn that follows historical events more accurately, because there is none.

Little is known about the life of Mary Boleyn. It is true she was raised in France, married Will Carey, and was mistress to the King, had a daughter and son, and married a man named William Stafford for love. Most of her life is a gap lost in history. That is why I applaud Gregory for choosing Mary Boleyn as the subject for this novel. It is the extensive liberties she took to tell Mary’s story that bothers this reader. 

Book Review: Catalyst

Title: Catalyst

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Published: 2002, Penguin Books

Rating: 4/5

Kate Malone has two personalities: good Kate and bad Kate. On the outside she is the smiling, hardworking daughter of a minister who sees to her family’s needs in place of her dead mother. Then there is bad Kate on the inside, the one who views her world partly as a nuisance and herself as a slight bitch. Kate is sure she is going to get into MIT and that her world is smooth sailing after she gets an acceptance letter.

Yeah, right.

The Litchs’ house burns down and Kate is forced to share her room with her childhood nemesis and Teri’s baby brother, Mikey. Unbeknownst to the football players and cheerleaders who heckle Teri, her life has been a living hell. Carefully hidden in her private world, Teri has shouldered more hurt and responsibility than all the 4,000 + students in her school.

Good Kate and bad Kate melt into one as her relationship with Teri evolves and she learns the truth about Mikey's parentage. 

Anderson's sarcastic and quirky style created yet another fantastic novel. With realistic teen struggles, young readers will be able to identify with Anderson’s characters. Although, they may like to seem invincible, all adolescents know, they are riddled with faults like any other human.  

Book Review: Horse Tales from Heaven

Title: Horse Tales from Heaven

Author: Rebecca E. Ondov

Published: 2010 Harvest House Publishers

Rating: 5/5

In this memoir written through a collection of short stories, Ondov shares her life working with horses and humans on pack trips. Ondav’s memoir is also a devotional work of art as well where her relationship with god manifests through her relationship with horses. Her rich descriptions ground the reader in the breathless landscape of the west. Strong images will form in the readers’ minds as they see a foal born and another horse tragically die from an accident. This is one of those rare books where after every chapter, the reader is forced to sit and reflect upon their own life. This novel is a must read for anyone who honestly believes horses have changed their spirit and relationship with god.

Personal Side Story: I read this novel on my way home on the airplane from LA after my interview. Although I am not Christian, I understood Ondav’s relationship with God and how she often felt him around her when she was with horses. As a spiritual person, I believe horses have always influenced my life and helped mold who I am. Stories about horses made me want to be a writer. Being a writer makes me want to explore the world of horses and everything connected to them for the rest of my life. This makes me want to write about them. This is one of the many reasons I am determined to go to Japan and experience the culture and the horses. While I feel prepared to teach English and face the challenges of being a gaijin (foreigner), I am not sure if I feel prepared to write the novels. Why? I am not sure if I can do justice to the spirit of the horse sometimes in my writing. All I can hope is some of my future non-horsey readers will come to respect the horse through my writing.