Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance picks up where The Other Boleyn Girl left off. Well, skipping the short marriage of Jane Seymour and the birth of her son, Edward. The Boleyn Inheritance shows the changes that have come about because of the interfering Boleyn's and their cousins the Howards. We read about the marriage and annulment of Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves as well as the consequent marriage to Anne Boleyn's much younger cousin, and my second favorite wife, Kitty Howard.
I enjoyed The Boleyn Inheritance, but it's a little more like short stories put together than Gregory's other works. I would have liked her to delve more into the characters and given these wives their own novels as well, although I can understand why she chose not to. Writing takes much longer than reading, and Gregory prides herself on doing actual research. This could have gotten very tedious. Or maybe there wasn't enough truth out there, just rumors or unreliable accounts. or perhaps she just had other ideas she was anxious to get to work on. So I understand why the book may be set up like it is, but it made it harder to get into the work and get to know the characters. Regardless, it's an enjoyable historical fiction. If you like Henry VIII's life as I do, give it a go!
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