Katherine Howard was sent to King Henry's court just as Anne of Cleves arrives to become King Henry's fourth wife. Anne is a very proper and dignified young woman whom Henry has chosen to marry for political reasons. But because Anne unintentionally offends King Henry on their first meeting, it does not take long for him to cast the woman aside and look to her maids-in-waiting for her replacement.
King Henry's Fifth Wife, Katherine Howard
King Henry's wandering eye falls on 14-year-old Katherine Howard, cousin of his second wife, Anne Boleyn. The couple are soon married, and after his fourth try, Henry believes he has finally gotten it right with his marriage to Katherine.
Similarities Between Queen's Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard
King Henry soon finds that the Boleyn cousins are not really that different from one another, however, and Katherine finds herself staring down a treason charge, hoping to avoid the axe.
The Boleyn Inheritance must have been a difficult book for Philippa Gregory to write as the historical facts behind the story are so similar to the historical facts surrounding her previous book, The Other Boleyn Girl. In both stories, dignified foreign queens are replaced by members of the Boleyn family, and eventually, both Boleyn queens are accused of treason against the king.
Multiple Narrators
Despite the similarities in the stories, Gregory has been able to separate the two novels and write them so they do not read like the same book. With The Boleyn Inheritance, Gregory has used three different narrators to tell the story from different points of views, a tactic similar to the one she uses in The Other Queen. It is a strategy that works well for her, as she is able to piece together different ideas that may not have been presented from only one narrator.
Also, using multiple narrators allows the reader to see the personalities of the different queens and Jane Boleyn, the woman responsible for the downfall of at least two queens. In The Boleyn Inheritance, Gregory presents Jane as a manipulative and ambitious woman willing to do anything to keep her title. Jane is a sharp juxtaposition from the two queens: Katherine is presented as a silly young girl who cares about nothing except the material possessions she has gained by becoming queen, while Anne of Cleves remains a proper, mature woman throughout the entire novel.
King Henry's Transformation
In addition, with The Boleyn Inheritance, Gregory has shown the tyranny of King Henry like she never has before. In The Other Boleyn Girl, King Henry was seen as a selfish man who got whatever he wanted. In The Boleyn Inheritance, King Henry has progressed to a madman, willing to kill or remove anything in his path. He has violent mood swings and makes his decisions with his fleeting passions. King Henry's character also helps to distinguish between the different novels.
All of the characters in this book are written with such precision and vivid personalities that it is difficult not to appreciate Gregory's skill — not only in writing but also in research. The scenes are captivating, the dialogue between characters is crisp and snappy, and the storyline couldn't be more intriguing if she had made it all up. The Boleyn Inheritance is a must-read for anyone interested in Tudor-era history.
The Boleyn Inheritance was published in 2006 by Pocket Books. ISBN: 978-1-4391-2467-3
Kristen Nichols - Kristen is a freelance reporter and copywriter covering Olympic and Paralympic sport for Suite101.com. Kristen's love of sport developed ...
