The Boleyn Inheritance

infobox Book |
name = The Boleyn Inheritance
title_orig =
translator =


author = Philippa Gregory
cover_artist =
country = flagicon|UK United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher =
release_date = 2006
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = 0743272501
preceded_by = The Other Boleyn Girl
followed_by =

"The Boleyn Inheritance" is a novel by British author Philippa Gregory which was first published in 2006. It is a direct sequel to her previous novel "The Other Boleyn Girl," and the most recent addition to her five-part series on the Tudor royals. (The other titles in the series are "The Constant Princess," "The Queen's Fool," and "The Virgin's Lover.") The novel is told through the voices of three narrators - Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Jane Boleyn, who was mentioned in "The Other Boleyn Girl." It covers a period from 1539 until 1542 and chronicles the fourth and fifth marriages of King Henry VIII of England.

Many of the same characters and themes from "The Other Boleyn Girl" are explored in "The Boleyn Inheritance," particularly Gregory's criticism of the English Reformation and aristocratic court. The novel has received generally positive reviews and it has avoided the controversy created by its prequel. Much of the criticism aimed against "The Other Boleyn Girl" was based on that novel's apparent suggestion that Queen Anne Boleyn and her brother, George, were guilty of the charges of incest and treason for which they were both put to death at the end of the novel; this suggestion is missing from "The Boleyn Inheritance," with one of the chief witnesses against them actually confessing that the charges were false.

Plot Summary

The book begins in 1539, after the death of King Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour. Henry is looking for a new wife and settles on Anne of Cleves, daughter of John III, Duke of Cleves, whom he has only seen through the paintings sent to him. Jane Rochford is summoned to court by the Duke of Norfolk to be a lady-in-waiting at the court of King Henry VIII. Jane has unpleasant memories of court, because she is the widow of George Boleyn and sister-in-law to Henry VIII's second wife, Anne. George and Anne Boleyn were both executed in 1536 for "adultery, incest and plotting to murder the King." Katherine Howard is a young girl (the cousin of Anne Boleyn) living with her grandmother at Lambeth Palace, where she has grown accustomed to a lax, licentious lifestyle. She has taken a lover, Francis Dereham, and the two have sworn to be married. Katherine's uncle informs her that she will be brought to court if she can behave herself and she swears to herself not to let anything, including Francis, get in her way of success.

Anne, who has heard of the less-than-pleasant fates of her would-be predecessors, is not sure about being the queen of England, but is eager to leave her abusive family. She comes to England, where she quickly befriends Jane Rochford, one of her ladies-in-waiting. Jane is as surprised as anyone at Anne's plain appearance and ill profiency at English (she prefers to speak German and uses a translator), but Anne is an honest, sweet young woman who wins over the English people, if not her husband. Anne's lack of communication causes a dangerous run-in with her future husband that earns her his enmity throughout the duration of their marriage: a drunk man (unknown to Anne to be Henry VIII) approaches and kisses her; she responds with a slap. Despite his misgivings, Henry marries Anne. She is a simple, wise woman who makes an effort to befriend Prince Edward, and Princesses Elizabeth and Mary, even when it enrages her husband. A few months after their wedding, Henry decides to rid himself of his new wife. Fearing for her life, Anne is all-too-eager to sign an annulment saying that she was previously betrothed to Francis of Lorraine and that her wedding was not consummated. She is given the title "Princess" and receives land, money, and the treatment reserved for the king's own sister.

Meanwhile, Henry's eyes have caught the beautiful fourteen-year-old Katherine "Kitty" Howard, a silly little girl who has been brought to the court by her uncle, Duke Thomas Howard of Norfolk. He falls in love with and marries the enchanting Katherine who has in turn has fallen in love with one of the king's favorite courtiers, Thomas Culpepper. At first, Katherine enjoys the perks of being a queen. However, Henry is hardly the handsome young man he was while married to the first Queen Katherine; he is nearly 50 years old and weighs approximately 300 pounds. Her infatuation for Thomas Culpepper becomes harder and harder to hide. Encouraged by the Duke of Norfolk and Jane Boleyn, who want Katherine to bear a child for the king (who they now believe to be completely impotent), she begins an affair with the young courtier. She goes to bed with the king and once he is asleep, joins Thomas in another room, guarded by Jane Boleyn.

However, young Katherine's life takes a bad turn when her past, with her ex-lovers Francis Dereham and Henry Mannox comes back to haunt her and her affair with Culpepper is exposed. When her friends and family desert her to avoid implication herself, she is found guilty of adultery and treason and is executed at only sixteen along with her beloved Thomas Culpepper and many others involved. Jane Rochford tries desperately to get out of execution by feigning insanity, but cannot escape from the king's wrath again. She is beheaded. Anne of Cleves, after being cleared of any blame, remains in her new home in England.

Historical Inaccuracy

* Mary Boleyn's daughter, Catherine, is referred to as Catherine Carey throughout the book. However she married Francis Knollys in 1539 and would have been called Lady Catherine Knollys.
* Jane mentions to Anne of Cleves that she was with Queen Jane when she died, however she really left court after Anne Boleyn's execution and didn't return until Anne of Cleves became queen.
* There is no evidence that Jane faked insanity to save her life. She was, however, insane when she was executed and King Henry VIII repealed a law that said that insane people could not be executed.
* Jane and George Boleyn did not have a son. There is no contemporary mention of them having children. This rumour comes from the later prominience of George Boleyn, dean of Lichfield, who was probably a distant cousin.If they had had a son, he would have inherited the titles of earl of Ormonde and earl of Wiltshire. Instead, the inheritance went to the crown since there were no male heirs left from Thomas and Elizabeth Boleyn, and Henry passed the funds along to Mary Boleyn.
* In the book Jane and the Duke of Norfolk plot to put Katherine on the throne. However there is no evidence that they even talked after the fall of Anne Boleyn. The Duke of Norfolk, after the tragedy of his niece, Anne Boleyn, is highly unlikely to have played such a dangerous game.
* Anne of Cleves's mother was not cruel to her. On the contrary Anne was said to be her favourite.
*In the book, Katherine Howard was said to be extremely beautiful (or as she herself says that she "was the most beautiful girl in England"). In reality, Katherine Howard was said to be only "moderately beautiful" but youthful looking.
* In the book Anne of Cleves is elated to be free from her marriage, and is horrified at the idea of remarrying the King. In reality, although she agreed to the annulment, she had hopes of becoming Queen again after the execution of Katherine Howard, and was said to be quite unhappy on learning that the King was marrying Katherine Parr. Years after the King died, she attempted to have their marriage declared valid so that she could enjoy the perks of being Queen Dowager.

External links

* [http://www.philippagregory.com The Official Philippa Gregory Site]