“It is easy to think that someone so colourless must also have been lacking in character, a malleable puppet in the hands of others. What we know of her vituoso performance in winning Henry’s heart suggests otherwise. At the very least, she was an accomplished actress who learned her part well. She could have been under no illusions about the prize. Jane Seymour wanted to be queen every bit as much as those at the court who pushed her into the king’s company.” [Emphasis added]
–Linda Porter
“For although Mary never acknowledged it, and probably did not realise it at the time, her father had decided to end his marriage to Katherine of Aragon before he fell in love with Anne Boleyn. If it had not been Anne, it would have been someone else. Henry’s growing affection for Anne explains the timing of his moves to have his marriage to Katherine formally annulled, but it was not the prime motive. The motive had to do with power and security [...].” [Emphasis added]
–Linda Porter
Lady Jane Grey’s story is tragic. According to this book, she never could stand up for herself, chiefly against her parents whose choices for her proved deadly. But when she eventually did so, it was against none other than Queen Mary, and her life was in the balance. Without one doubt it seemed, she elected death over conversion.
Would she had had the chance, she probably would have been a good ruler. The young lady certainly appeared wise beyond her years and temperate.
What my next book would be was decided while reading the last chapters of Innocent Traitor. Jane was spared for months because Mary recognized that she was a child who was used and abused for others’ benefit. Queen Mary was not depicted quite as “Bloody Mary”. So, naturally, next comes The First Queen of England: The Myth of “Bloody Mary” by Linda Porter. And I’m fairly sure that once I’m done with that one, I’ll finally travel back in time and read about Henry VII. But who knows…
Well, Innocent Traitor is taking me a while, NOT because of the structure of the story or the writing style which on the contrary I happen to like a lot, but simply because I changed my work schedule and don’t always feel like reading when I get on the bus at 5:15am! I also had some vacation time and visits, and I did not open the book during that time. Nevertheless, I am getting there, maybe slowly, but surely… The Lord Admiral is now in the tower, Elizabeth is being questioned, and Jane is summoned back home to her parents.
And now, with much anticipation: historical fiction again!! And this will be my first Alison Weir book.
New glance at an old question mark: According to Alison Weir, Henry VIII did not desert Jane Seymour in her dying hours.
“Truly, how are the mighty fallen!
For all his power and might, for all his pride and vanity, for all his grandiose plans, Henry in now commemorated only by the plain, bare essentials — his name and date of death — in humble brass letters set into a slab in the pavement of the choir, walked over heedlessly by thousands of tourists every year.
Henry’s vainglorious ambitions for his tomb have been thwarted by history. In the end, it all seems rather sad.”
The Last Days of Henry VIII is a wealth of well organized, detailed pieces of information that did knock me out almost instantly. But I have rejoiced since I reached the long-awaited end one unremarkable day last week, some two months after first checking the book out…
So what did I retain from it aside from how really astoundingly extravagant Henry VIII’s court’s spending was? Well, not much that I didn’t already know. (I might have learnt more if I hadn’t shamefully skipped many passages!)
What did I like about it? The “Chronology” and the “Dramatis Personae”, which I just realized now I returned without photocopying for my personal use, grrrrr!
So, you know how I was complaining about too much fiction before? Well, The Last Days of Henry VIII is layering history on very thickly! Goodness!
Granted, work’s been very busy for the past two weeks, and I’ve had an ungraciously sick 23-month-old little girl on my hands, but in the past I’ve always picked up my book no matter what and read assiduously on the bus ride to and from work. But this book is a burden, and the proof of it is that I’m only on page 134 while there are only 273 pages!
Optimistically, I’m half-way through. Just gotta keep on reading and reading. It’s probably getting better…
This is just what I was looking for: more history, less (or none whatsoever) fiction. Yay.
Plain Jane was an easy but entertaining reading. It is interesting to attempt to imagine how all these characters might have perceived themselves and what was happening to them and around them.
Question mark: In Plain Jane, Henry was at Jane’s side when she died while in The Boleyn Inheritance, afraid of her ailment, Henry left her to die alone.
I decided to continue with The Last Wife of Henry VIII for the simple fact that Katherine Parr was the wife I knew the least about at the point in time I was at. The book was highly digestible and enjoyable, and it gave yet another view from the sidelines.
What I am starting to notice the more I read is that books are books. They are one author’s perspective, among many others. Novels. Historical inventions, mostly or partly. Not everything always matches between these stories. I’ll have to dig in much greater depth to get to what’s considered the closest to the possible truth.
The Other Boleyn Girl MOVIE.
What a disappointment! I understand (well, not really) that such a long book and complex story is arduously turned into a 90-minute feature. But if one decides to undertake this daunting task, then one cannot permit oneself, for lack of better adaptation talent available and/or monetary funds, to resort to such bending of the truth and absurd shortcuts as seen in this movie. I would rather have had no movie made at all.
I still feel I’d like to read more on Anne Boleyn. Her character is fascinating.
Who painted more accurate profiles: Philippa Gregory’s or Robin Maxwell’s, or neither?
I find that in The Other Boleyn Girl, Mary is a pure, innocent, kind child, while Anne is the very cruel one.
In The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, Mary is portrayed as a whorish whore, and Anne is the kind, innocent one.
After The Other Boleyn Girl, it made sense to me to go on straight to The Boleyn Inheritance to find out more about Anne of Cleves and Kitty Howard, and the role of Jane Boleyn. I liked having the three characters echoing in parallele on the same issues.
I now want to know everything from every perspective, even if partly ficitional, from this period in history. Once I’m satisfied with that slice, I would like to go some generations back (the Plantagenets and thereafter) and forward (Mary’s reign, and Elizabeth’s).
The TOBG movie is coming out on DVD next week, so I’m definitely looking forward to watching it!
Months after reading The Other Boleyn Girl (in April), I am writing this. I wanted to see the movie, but instead decided to read the book first. Let me mention that history (of any kind) and I had never been particularly friendly, so I had no way of suspecting that one piece would put me on the track of borderline obsession with English history and the Tudor reign, more precisely. The Other Boleyn Girl was a page turner, but in retrospective, it may not be the most accurate accounts of events.
Yet another pick by elimination… The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao put me off at first by its language. I wasn’t too fond of the characters or the plot, but I recognized that they were necessary for the bigger, appreciable picture, i.e. a nice chunk of history of the Dominican Republic.
The “mystery” genre is usually not my cup of tea. I was made to read Le mystere de la Chambre Jaune for school as a kid, and I remember finding the story endless and uncaptivating. [Although, I would be tempted to give that book another chance to judge it with an adult mind. I always remind myself (and others) that because my personal tastes made me dislike one thing or another does not mean that one thing or another was bad. And, it goes against my better conscience to speak ill of any book, any author's treasured intense labor.] Nevertheless, I picked The Thirteenth Tale from some “bestseller list” by elimination. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise and it held my attention until the end, which I never suspected.
I chose The Changeling Garden because it jumped at me from the shelf with its striking cover. I picked it up and liked the green pages, so I thought I’d give it a try. Well, as it turns out, you really can’t judge a book by its cover! I personally didn’t like the narrative too much and didn’t find the story too enthralling or suspenseful.
Atonement, the movie, was a masterpiece!!!! The best screen adaptation I have ever seen. That story will haunt me for a long time.
The verdict is that I did like it, over all. I almost wish I hadn’t read the “London, 1999″ part though. Not so much of a happy ending, but what can I do?! I look forward to seeing the movie.
I am now reading “On Chesil Beach”, by McEwan as well; I also have “Feast of Souls”, however I am not so much in a mood to read it. Next I want “The Other Boleyn Girl”.
I googled “atonement” and “happy ending” and quickly realized it’s not going to be happening. Huh. There’s a video clip of the movie ending, that I did not watch, even though I opened the page and had the cursor on play. I swear.
Thank goodness the story’s where it’s at! Some sort of deal I suppose. Later, rather than sooner, however, McEwan’s bound to backtrack and tell how it came to be as it is. I hope he does so fragmentally. I’ll keep on reading.
I would have bet on it, on the scene in the bedroom. The scratches, the tears. Evident. Well, I still have a long way to go, so I may be wrong after all.
I know it’s a story, but what happened in it bothers me so much. I just wish I could be over with it, see it all solved, read the happy ending. Coz there’s a happy ending, right?!?!!?!??
Truth be told: I doubt I have it in me not to finish a book. And Atonement will not be the exception that confirms the rule. So nevermind the hair-pulling slow pace of the book! I’ve gotten to the “good stuff” now, and my blood is boiling just imagining what that little brat is scheming. Something bad is coming, McEwan keeps warning me. When is it coming? I can only assume, too many wrenching chapters from now!!
