Jane Rochford is summoned to court by the Duke of Norfolk to be a lady-in-waiting at the court of King Henry VIII. Jane has unpleasant memories of court, because she is the widow of George Boleyn and sister-in-law to Henry VIII's second wife, Anne. George and Anne Boleyn were both executed in 1536 for "adultery, incest and plotting to murder the King."

After Katherine of Aragon, whom I ADORED reading about in The Constant Princess, I have to say Anne of Cleves is my next favorite of Henry's unfortunate wives. I do like Anne Boleyn, but she's the one with all the publicity, everyone knows her. And I feel like after reading the first three books in this series, binge-watching The Tudors on Netflix is required. And I always seem to mix the Tudors cast with the Other Boleyn Girl cast-- I like ScarJo for Mary Boleyn, but Natalie Dormer will ALWAYS be Anne and I like Jim Sturgess for George. And Jonathan for Henry, because yum. And Tamzin Merchant is perfect for Katherine Howard. I can feel myself digressing.He then starts to plan his exit. Best way to angle a move he thinks? Play shit and act like a moody wanker. Am invatat ca sunt in stare sa indur orice mi-ar putea face un baiat. Mai tarziu am invatat ca sunt in stare sa supravietuiesc oricarui lucru pe care mi l-ar putea face un barbat."

Anne, the maiden from Flanders, who has lived her life under her brother’s thumb, is finally free to leave her bondage. She travels to England to become Henry’s wife and finds herself a stranger in a strange land. She cannot speak the language, her clothing is unfashionable, and her initial response to Henry – revulsion – does not earn her Henry’s good graces, even before they are married. She is clearly not long for the throne of England. How Anne is falsely accused and manages to avoid the axe is a miracle of storytelling. In the interview at the end of the book, Gregory says that The Boleyn Inheritance “rescues the reputation of two queens who have been neglected and traduced by conventional history—historians still call Anne of Cleves “fat” and Katherine Howard “stupid,” so it matters to me that they are considered carefully as real people.” On one hand, yikes at all those historians for those dismissive and sexist accounts, but on the other… while Philippa Gregory did a great job with Anne, I’m not sure she did any better with Katherine than the people she’s looking down at.The book begins in 1539, after the death of King Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour. Henry is looking for a new wife and chooses Anne of Cleves, daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves, whom he has only seen from portraits sent to him by her brother, a minor duke. The book begins in 1539, after the death of King Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour. Henry is looking for a new wife and chooses Anne of Cleves, daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves, whom he has only seen from portraits sent to him by her brother, a minor duke. Jane Rochford is summoned to court by the Duke of Norfolk to be a lady-in-waiting at the court of King Henry VIII. Jane has unpleasant memories of court, because she is the widow of George Boleyn and sister-in-law to Henry VIII's second wife, Anne. George and Anne Boleyn were both executed in 1536 for "adultery, incest and plotting to murder the King." Philippa Gregory is two for two for me so far. Her books, carefully researched interpretations of English history, are like heroin for someone fascinated with Tudor England such as myself. I've stood in those rooms. I've touched those stones. I've studied those people. There are songs that chant what a strange affair Henry VIII was, but never do we stop to think what terror it must have been to live through, especially for those that actually survived. These books make it come alive. Her words open your eyes to this world, which was once as real as the room I sit in now. You can see the dancing, hear the lutes, smell the soot and taste the blood. These characters, once perceived as nothing but small paintings of strained smiles in your history books, breathe new life and weave a web as intricate as it actually was. The University of Edinburgh is where she earned her doctorate on 18th-century literature. She taught at the Durham University, the University of Teesside, and at the Open University. Philippa was also a fellow at Kingston University. This installment in the Tudor series was Philippa Gregory at her best, giving life to some of the least known or understood characters of the Tudor era. Two queens, one perpetual lady-in-waiting and the ever cunning Duke of Norfolk make this story gripping and frightening.

Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Nielsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output. Also, there are some spoilers in this review. They’re all minor except a few that are historical facts that most people probably already know. The novel spans Henry VIII’s marriages to Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, and is narrated by three women: Anne, Katherine, and Lady Rochford (Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law of beheaded Anne Boleyn). Anne of Cleves is both intelligent and honorable, and I felt for her as she slowly realizes that she’d exchanged the humiliations of her brother’s court for the life-threatening humiliations of Henry’s court. The only problem with Anne is her repetitive “realizations” of Henry’s insanity. “I think he must be mad!”; “I fear the king is mad!” “The country is ruled by a madman!” How many times can you be surprised by this? Anyway, it got a bit old, as did her droning on about her life being in danger, especially as we already know she doesn't end up beheaded. (Remember the rhyme: "Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.") And besides, Henry VIII wasn't insane, just selfish and corrupt.

Publication Order of Tradescant Books

As I said, I like Anne of Cleves and I really feel bad for her because, like Katherine of Aragon, she never did anything to warrant what she got. Granted, it could've been a hell of a lot worse *side-eyes Anne B and Katherine H* but still, this poor girl. She gets dragged out of her home country into a place where she doesn't speak the language nearly at all, gets laughed at and treated with suspicion because of that, and is still excited to meet and marry her new husband. And then as soon as Henry meets her he decides he doesn't like her. What an ass. And throughout all of this, and then dumping her so he can marry a teenager (rape culture much?), Anne is never really angry or very jaded by the whole thing-- just bewildered as all get out. I just want to give her a hug. The Boleyn Inheritance is the tenth book in The Plantagenet and Tudor novels. It tells the story of two of King Henry VIII’s wives, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. In addition to the two queens, there is also Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford who was the sister-in-law of Anne Boleyn. The story is told from the three women’s perspectives. This book covers the period in which Henry’s madness was getting out of control. Anne, who has heard of the fates of her predecessors, is not sure about being the queen of England but is eager to leave her family, as nobody really cares for her. Her arrival in England goes well until she is surprised by a drunken man (actually Henry VIII in disguise), who plants a sloppy kiss on her; she responds with an angry shove and curses him in German. Although she tries to make amends once she is aware of his identity, the King holds a grudge for the duration of their marriage because of this.