Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
12:29 pm
January 27, 2010
Offline
I've been given this as a birthday present. Has anyone read it? It's about Mary Howard and her relationship with Henry Fitzroy. It says on the back that anyone who enjoyed The Tudors and The Other Boleyn Girl will like it. This suggests to me that it may be readable but not terribly accurate! I was hoping someone can tell me what they thought of it since I won't be reading it for a little while 🙂
3:39 pm
November 18, 2010
Offline
This one??
ie=UTF8&qid=1301438220&sr=1-4
It keeps coming up as a recommendation for me.
It's always bunnies.
11:03 pm
January 27, 2010
Offline
Yep that looks like the same one. The author must use two names!
11:38 am
March 26, 2011
Offline
I've read this and I think your expectations are probably correct Beth! Readable but not necessarily historically accurate, though I enjoyed it as a bit of light reading-to be honest I haven't really analysed it much in terms of historical accuracy.
The characterisation of Anne is not bad at all-at first I thought oh no! not another villainous Phillipa-Gregory style Boleyn girl, but it got better, I think that the author was trying to show that Anne was a very complex person and very emotional, Bonnette gave Anne a softer side and tried to make sense of her outbursts of temper ( such as that she was under a lot of pressure). It had the makings of a really great fictional character there but unfortunately this was not what the book was about and I didn't find the main character anywhere near as interesting. It's a shame that Bonnette didn't developed the character of Anne Boleyn further.
3:22 am
January 27, 2010
Offline
Having now finished it, my opinion hasn't changed much! Mary Howard isn't fleshed out enough to be a strong lead character. It seems Bonnette was more concerned with everyone else's stories. Mary is good friends with, or at least knows of, anyone with any kind of historical importance, which got weary long before the end of the book. A lot of it seemed like a rehashing of The Other Boleyn Girl, but without Phillipa Gregory's attention to detail. Mary also has a disturbing and bizarre relationship with her father, which seemed out of place. It also included a lot of the usual historical fiction suspects, such as Anne's sixth finger/growth, Catherine Howard being nicknamed Kitty and ending her life with the 'I would rather die the wife of Culpeper' speech, and the negative portrayal of Jane Boleyn.
One thing I did like, however, was her portrayal of Anne, as Claire-Louise mentioned above. It was a good light read, but might be irritating to history fans.
3:51 pm
November 18, 2010
Offline
I'll keep it on my wish list for the time being then.
It's always bunnies.
10:23 am
February 16, 2009
Offline
I've just read an online review of this and am wondering whether or not to buy it as it sounds intriguing, hmmm…
Debunking the myths about Anne Boleyn
12:58 pm
January 27, 2010
Offline
Maybe for a light read, Claire. Unfortunately it's not well-written enough to be really enjoyable. Philippa Gregory, for all her meddling, is a very good writer at the end of the day! Bonnette's book wasn't truly awful, it's just that there are so many books out there that are more appealing!
