It’s July 1539 and the lives of three women are about to converge in England. Mary Boleyn of Norfolk House is to return to court, Ann, Duchess of Cleves is having her portrait painted in anticipation of being chosen by Henry the VIII as his next queen and fourteen year old Katherine of Norfolk House, a vain and silly girl is adding up her possessions.
I’m Betty Martin with "Martin’s Must Reads" and those are the leading characters in Philippa Gregory’s novel The Boleyn Inheritance. When Mary Boleyn was last at court she watched her husband and his sister be beheaded. Ann has been chosen to wed Henry so that England can form an alliance with Germany. She’s happy to leave her home and her abusive mother and brother. But she doesn’t speak English, dresses strangely, has no friends at court and is instantly disliked by the king. Katherine is chosen to serve the new queen and through her beauty and flirtations catches the eye of the king. Gregory alternates the voice of her narrative among these three women.
King Henry has made himself judge, jury and even God delivering death sentences on trumped up charges to thousands of people. This is a fascinating look into the time of his reign when no one was safe from his whims.
In her author notes, Gregory says that Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard are the two wives of Henry VIII of whom we know the least. Gregory takes the few historical facts that are known and weaves an engrossing sixteenth century tale.
If you’re looking for a story of the madness of Henry VIII and several of the women who suffered his wrath, then you must read The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory.