Last summer I read The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory and I loved it, so I decided I wanted to read this one as well, although on the advice of several friends I am giving the movie a miss.
This book, which I actually listened to, was fantastic! I really love her style, and although I knew what was coming - it is, after all, the story of Anne Boleyn, and everyone knows what happened to her...Gulp.
This story is actually the continuation of The Constant Princess which is the story of Catherine, the queen who preceded Anne. There is so much rich detail and description of everything that these books come to life for me. Many of my blog readers know I was supposed to BE a princess, so I'm sort of fascinated with all things princess-y, and this book is no exception.
However, if I were going to be a princess, I'm not sure I would have wanted to do it in the 1500s. First of all there were the corsets. That right there is enough to stop me. But then there was the gossiping and the lack of freedom and the lack of privacy and the scheming. Not too nice. I actually felt sorry for Anne and her sister Mary, the other Boleyn girl, for many reasons, including these, but more because for the most part they really lacked love in their lives, and that's no way to live.
This book is super long and probably would not hold the attention of most middle schoolers, plus it has some grown-up themes in it, but mature high school and adult fans of historical fiction will enjoy these. Available at the Multnomah County Library.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment