The King and his Wives

The Boleyn Inheritance is another historical winner from Philippa Gregory. She again takes readers to the complex world that was King Henry VIII's court, and this time, the story is told by Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boleyn, also known as Lady Jane Rochford. (She's now covered all of the wives except for Katherine Parr.) Inheritance tells the stories of the reigns of Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard as Queens of England, and what dramatic stories they are indeed. Gregory's ability to not only navigate flawlessly among three very different and vibrant characters, but also to make the Tudor court so mentally visible is practically astounding. This is not to say that her novels should be used as a substitute for actual historical accounts; being fiction, they should not be. Gregory is, though, a master story-teller and her knowledge and enthusiasm for the Tudor period are apparent in her work, and have inspired me to seek out history books on the subject to get more of the facts. I will remain, however, a fan of historical fiction, especially that (like Gregory's) has the capability to transport you to a particular time period and become emotionally invested in the characters and then, perhaps most important, spark a real interest in the era.