Customer Reviews
superb! - By: K. Dwyer, 05 Jul 2008 
I'm a recent newcomer to the work of Phillipa Gregory, having read The Other Boleyn Girl following it on with this. I haven't been disappointed with either book. This one was my favourite though - not least because it was written with 3 different narrative heads & it really made me reassess my opinions of the middle two of Henry's wives. Obviously, as wtith any work of historical fiction there will be a certain amount of artistic license used, but you can't help feelingin many ways Gregory is spot on with her characterisations of Katherine Howard & Anne of Cleves. I actually found myself really feeling for both of them & their situations, Anne of Cleves was always my favourite of the 6 wives anyway & this just made me like her more. Katherine Howard is portrayed as a vain young thing at first, butin many ways by the middle of the novel you feel some empathy for her as she is unable to be with the man she really wants to be with & has to go to bed with the King of England who Gregory refers to as 'rotting from the leg up'. Old, infirm, smelling foul & behaving even fouler. It's a tantalising glimpse into a time gone by when life was brutal & hard, & you could lose your life for merely thinking the wrong thing. A superb book, highly recommended.
Intense Drama - By: LindyLouMac, 23 Jun 2008 In The Boleyn Inheritance Philippa Gregory once again returns to a periodin history that she writes about so knowledgably. The court of Henry VIII, this time covering the period 1539 to 1542 with a postscript endingin 1547.
The story is narrated by the three protagonists Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard & Jane Rochford concentrating on the lives of these young women trying to survive life at court during a time of political & religious uncertainty.
It is an intense time as these women though powerful livein fear of Henry & his favourite way of solving his problems `the gallows'
Written from the three different perspectives of these three very different women I found that I was once again enjoying historical facts interwoven with fictionin the style that Philippa Gregory does so well.
Even if you have not read the previous novelsin the series this one still stands well alone. So whether you are new to her novels or a firm fan this intense drama should bring the historical period to life.
brilliant - By: M. I. J. Tyers, 13 Jun 2008 
I have to say that I know own all 4 of the talking books, constant princess, the other boleyn girl, the virgin lover & now the boleyn inheritance. I enjoyed 3 out of four, the boleyn inheritance being the best with emilia Fox. Not only is she a brilliant actress but a very good reader. I will say that I was dissapointed with the virgin lover as a man read the book & made Elizabeth someone she was not. In all the books I have read, she is a strong woman but he made out she was not. Well done Philippa Gregory for another well written book.
I would have given it more! - By: R. L. Araujo, 11 Jun 2008 This is my favourite Philipa Gregory book to date. I loved the fact she split the book into three perspectives as each perspective was from a very different woman, Anne of Cleaves was a beautiful & lovely character I truly admired such a portrayal of the unfortunate queen she was kind & her character amongst the other two women really shined out. Jane Parkers character was suppose to be the other side the almost "evil" character although I felt rather sympathetic to her towards the end. Kitty Howard was the one character I could not stand I feel she was suppose to be that way & if you think back to the time women like her were probably rather common(asin there were many like her) I felt her spoilt & child like behaviour incredibly annoying but I pitied her at the end. I was completely enthralled by this book which looks at the two lesser known queens of Henry the VIII. I felt it even more exciting to read as I really did know little about these two queens & it was a really lovely read. I actually preferred it to the other Boleyn girl & it made her work such as the queens fool look terriblein comparison.
Anne of Cleves was a wonderful narrator - By: Monty, 10 Jun 2008 The Boleyn Inheritance was my second Philippa Gregory book & I enjoyed it even more than the first (The Other Boleyn Girl). I loved seeing how things panned out, depending on which side of the fence the narrator was on, & I really felt like I knew the characters & their motivation by the end. The end just came too soon for me. I'd have liked it to carry on & on, especially Anne's part.
Anne's & Katherine's chapters were more entertaining than Jane's but that's probably because Jane's chapters/thoughts/narration were primarily about her own self inflicted torment & delusions over her husband's & Anne Boleyn's betrayal. Her narrative had a definite air of madness about it as the story progressed. By the end she was a broken woman & I don't doubt she was as mad as box of frogs. I don't pity her though.....well, not much anyway.
I love that I feel I know these women a little better now (albeitin a fictional way) & will look out for other fictional works which cover the Tudors.
King Henry was vividly repulsivein the pages, to the point where I swear I could smell the supporating wound on his leg every time I opened the pages. At best he was delusional, at worst he was a maniac & I wonder how anyone could bear to be around him.
Allin all it's a great read, I just hope I can find a worthy bedtime read to replace it, now it's finished. That's the worst part of a good book.....it's over too soon.
