The Other Boleyn Girl

Philipa Gregory is one of my favorite authors, and this is easily my favorite Gregory novel. It tells the story of Mary Boleyn, Anne's older sister, and Henry VIII's mistress, and of life in the English court. The characters are well-developed and the books pacing make this a great read.

One of the most gripping books in my library. The lengths to which the Boleyns go for power, the utter callousness of their ambition, their mercurial rise and fall from the King's grace, the sheer selfishness and vindictiveness of the King and Mary Boleyn's lucky escape from the tower - it is a cautionary tale for all times. “She has made her bed and she must lie in it.”