Nap Time Rocks!

What man in his right mind will bed a young girl of 14, flirt with with young women barely out of their teens, and all while being married to a powerful and beautiful woman? That kind of man could only be someone who can command respect rather than deserve it, have your head cut off in front of crowds, and someone who wears the royal color purple and wear something made of gold and precious jewels on his head. You’re right, it could only be a king. A king of one of the greatest political kingdoms in history, nonetheless.

I have just finished The Other Boleyn Girl, a book by Philippa Gregory and I was enchanted. By the way the dresses were fashioned and worn, the civility were of utmost grandeur, the richness of everything from food to music was given so much importance; and while the culture was rich, it was as sadistic as ever to women that feminist groups (had they been alive those days) would have been appalled to no end.

This is actually just the second book that I have ever read in my entire life that was written by a woman. [The first one was Labyrinth by Kate Moss (no, not Brad Pitt’s anorexic model ex-girlfriend)]. I really don’t read romance novels even if it’s by Judith McNaught or whoever. Anyway. I love the book. It has all the works of being an English history book but with so much more color and plotting. Actually, the main character in the book, Mary Boleyn, has little part in history books since it was her sister, Anne Boleyn Queen of England that made it bigger than she did.

I had to keep reminding myself while reading the book, that most of the events in it were embellished and may not have really happened, because I was beginning to hate Anne Boleyn. I looked up some historical references to the events surrounding the Tudor-Howard household (which they belonged to) to correct my mindset about this family of grave and literally lethal ambitions to claim the throne of England.

If you read the book, you will get a rough picture of how court life was like for the privileged princes and princesses. I often thought to myself, if I wanted something, will I desire it as much as forsaking my own blood and kin? Will I follow my family’s unreasonable dictates in order to please them more than to please myself? Will I forget about real love in order to bed the greatest man in the land, which may be a king, a president, or lord? These are the tough decisions that the two main characters had to encounter during the short-lived lives as courtiers of Henry VIII king of England.

Just a sample of how the character evolved throughout the story:

“Anne rose up from the floor and swept toward the door. She stood before it, waiting for someone to open it for her, and when neither of us sprang up she flung it open herself. She turned on the threshold. “And don’t call me Annamaria any more,” she said. “And don’t call her Marianne. She is Mary, the other Boleyn girl. And I am Anne, Queen Anne to be. There is a world of difference between us two. We don’t share a name. She is next to nobody and I will be queen.””

It was definitely worth my money.

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Note: The novel is now a major motion picture starring Natalie Portman, Scarlet Johanssen, and Eric Bana as Henry VIII.