Hey everyone! Lori has signed us up for a contest on the following website:

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/theotherboleyngirl/

If you are interested in participating, let Lori know and she will post the club entry code and web address that takes you right to the registration.

We could win the following prizes:

The First Club to reach 100 Points Shall Receive:
One (1) autographed copy of The Other Boleyn Girl novel

Each Registered Member of the Club with the Most Points Shall Receive:
One (1) copy of The Other Boleyn Girl novel

The First Club to reach 200 Points Shall Receive:
One (1) Philippa Gregory Library consisting of the following paperback books: The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Virgin's Lover, The Queen's Fool and The Constant Princess as well as an audio recording of The Other Boleyn Girl.

The Book Club Organizer of the Club with the Most Points Shall Receive:
A trip for two near London, England from VisitBritain including:
Roundtrip coach class airfare for two (2) near London
Four (4) consecutive nights standard hotel accommodations
The opportunity to meet Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl
Two (2) general entrance tickets to the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace
One (1) copy of The Other Boleyn Girl novel
ARV of Grand Prize: $4,880.00
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Anne Boleyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anne Boleyn Queen Consort of England
Born ca. 1501/1507 (see The birth controversy)
Died 19 May 1536
Tower of London
Consort 28 May 1533–19 May 1536
Consort to Henry VIII
Issue Elizabeth I
Father Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
Mother Lady Elizabeth Howard
Anglicanism Portal
Anne Boleyn (1501/1507– 19 May 1536)[1] was the second wife of Henry VIII of England and the mother of Elizabeth I of England. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, were part of the complex beginning of the considerable political and religious upheaval which was the English Reformation, with Anne herself actively promoting the cause of Church reform. She has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had".[2]

Anne Boleyn is popularly known for having been beheaded on charges of adultery, incest and treason. She is widely assumed to have been innocent of the charges, and was later celebrated as a martyr in English Protestant culture, particularly through the works of John Foxe. Her life has been adapted for numerous novels, plays, songs, operas, television dramas and motion pictures, including Anne of the Thousand Days, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Tudors, The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Doomed Queen Anne.

In recent years, academical-historical opinion of her has generally been favourable—thanks largely to two lengthy biographies written by Professor Eric Ives (1986 and 2004). The works of David Starkey, David Loades, John Guy, Retha Warnicke and Diarmaid Macculloch have also been sympathetic or admiring. Popular biographies by Joanna Denny and feminist Karen Lindsey have taken similar approaches. A notable exception comes from the work of British writer Alison Weir, whose books have often been considerably more critical of Anne.

Mary Boleyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Mary Boleyn
c. 1499
Died July 19, 1543

Spouse Sir William Carey (1520-1528, his death)
William Stafford (1534-1543)
Mary Boleyn (c. 1499 – July 19, 1543) was a member of the famous aristocratic Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the early part of the 16th century. Mary was one of the mistresses of King Henry VIII of England and also, allegedly, of his rival, King Francis I of France. She was married twice and most historians believe she was the elder sister of Queen Anne Boleyn. Some still claim that she may have been the younger sister, though her children, and Anne's daughter, believed Mary to be the elder.

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Zorro, it's your fault I bought another book today,
just kidding,
I picked up The Other Boleyn Girl today!

Hi Merty, I bought The Other Boleyn Girl today too - the audio version. I have listened to one hour already. Enjoying it so far. It starts out in the Tower of London in 1521...isn't that about 400 years after our last Follett book? You should like this one cause you do like that time period, don't you? How much have you read?

Discussion questions

Why are the Boleyn father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, and the uncle so eager to have Mary become the 'favorite' of the king?

What does the Boleyn father gain by having his children as the 'favorites' of the king and queen?

SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!


Questions from Reading Group Guides:

1. Why does Philippa Gregory choose Mary to narrate the story? Keeping in mind the relationship between the observer and those observed, is Mary a good, trustworthy, narrator? As Mary ages, how is her loss of innocence reflected in her telling of the story?

2. Look at the exchange between Mary and her mother at the end of the first chapter. How does the author foreshadow what is to come? How do the events of the first chapter frame the entire story?

3. Discuss the Boleyn family's scheming and jockeying for favor in the court. In light of these politics, discuss the significance of Mary's explanation that she had "a talent for loving [the king]" (page 119). Is this simply a girl's fantasy? Why does Mary call herself and George "a pair of pleasant snakes" (page 131)?

4. On page 29, Mary professes her love and admiration for Queen Katherine and feels she can't betray her. In what ways are her honorable ideals compromised as she embarks on her adulterous affair with the king? Recount the whirlwind of events preceding Anne's becoming queen. Reading page 352, do you agree that "from start to finish" Mary "had no choice" but to betray Queen Katherine by taking the queen's letter to her uncle?

5. Consider pages 38 and 82. How does the author create sexual tension? How do the narrator's thoughts and feelings communicate the attraction between her and the king? Why is this important to the story of The Other Boleyn Girl?

6. On page 85, Anne tells Mary, "I am happy for the family. I hardly ever think about you." Do you think she's telling the truth? Later, Anne says to her sister, "We'll always be nothing to our family" (page 310). Do you think she believes this, especially given her overwhelming desire to advance her own status?

7. Why does Mary say, "I felt like a parcel..." (page 60)? What happens later to make Mary think she's no longer a "pawn" of the family, but "at the very least, a castle, a player in the game" (page 173)?

8. Look at the exchange between Mary and Anne about the king on page 72. Do you agree with Anne when she tells Mary that "you can't desire [the king] like an ordinary man and forget the crown on his head." What does this statement reveal about Anne's nature? And what does it reveal about Mary's?

9. In general, what are your impressions of the sisters? Keep in mind Anne and Mary's discussion on page 104: "So who would come after me?...I could make my own way." Also look at page 123, when Anne says, "Hear this, Mary...I will kill you." Why are these statements significant, particularly given their timing?

10. Share some of the characteristics that you like about historical fiction. For you, what aspect of The Other Boleyn Girl stands out the most? How does the book change your impressions of life in King Henry VIII's court? Looking at the letter on page 275, discuss the level of corruption in the court. Does it surprise you? Were you aware of Anne's dogged and exhausting pursuit of the king? Did the way Anne became queen shock you?

11. How do you feel about the idea that a woman had to be married before she could bed the king? What do you think about the king changing the laws to suit his needs? When Anne states that "Nothing will ever be the same for any woman in this country again," examine why she could believe she would be exempt from the same treatment. In other words, why didn't she realize that "when she overthrew a queen that thereafter all queens would be unsteady" (page 519)? Do you think the family realized this but persevered anyway?

12. Discuss Mary's evolution of thinking from when she realizes that after Queen Katherine's departure, "from this time onward no wife...would be safe" with her later thought (on page 468) that "the triumph of Anne, the mistress who had become a wife, was an inspiration to every loose girl in the country." What does this say about Mary's state of mind? Is she being a reliable narrator here?

13. On page 303, George exclaims to Mary, "You cannot really want to be a nobody." Why is this such a revolutionary idea in Henry's court, and for the Boleyns in particular? What should the response have been to Mary's question to Anne (page 330) about the rewards of Anne's impending marriage to the king: "What is there for me?"

14. In King Henry's court, homosexuality was a crime. Why do you think George essentially flaunted his preference? What do you make of the intimate kiss between George and Anne that Mary witnessed? What is the impetus behind George and Anne's relationship? Discuss whether or not you believe that George slept with Anne so that she might have a son, and why.

15. Why do you think George declares that Anne is "the only Boleyn anyone will ever know or remember" (page 410)? Was that true for you before you read The Other Boleyn Girl? What about now?

16. After Anne is arrested, Mary pleads for her by saying, "We did nothing more than that was ordered. We only ever did as we were commanded. Is she to die for being an obedient daughter?" (page 650). What is your reaction to these arguments? Did Henry have no choice but to sentence her to death?

Merty, these Boleyn girls are such pawns for their families! Aliena, Ellen, Gwenda, and Caris would never have gone along with this kind of treatment!

I can't believe how much they are used even when they are married! If the King wants them, well so be it! Ugh.

Based on the trailer for the movie, the King is very handsome! But to cheat on one's husband for the sake of the King, some sort of honor I suppose to justify it. Or the attention, it must have went to their heads a bit! Don't you think? Or to be popular, to be desired by the King, oh my!

quote:

Why does Philippa Gregory choose Mary to narrate the story?

She thought that knowing more about Mary would be interesting. You can hear what she has to say about this on the movie site if you click on the interview with Philippa Gregory.

quote:

2. Look at the exchange between Mary and her mother at the end of the first chapter. How does the author foreshadow what is to come? How do the events of the first chapter frame the entire story?

In Ch. 1 the uncle of the Boleyn girls is beheaded because he said too much about Henry having no sons. This forshadows the fates of other Boleyns. The mother says to Mary 'Watch and learn...There is no room for mistakes at court.' Other fatal mistakes will be made.

When we visited the Tower of London, I remember seeing the chopping block, and hearing about the ghost of Anne Boleyn in the chapel and the gruesome description of the heads on the spears outside the gates, left there as they rotted and the birds picked out their eyes.

In the back of the book, in the Q & A with the author, she claims that she found Mary rather than pick her, she felt that Mary was in the spotlight and in the wings of one of the most intriguing periods of British history.
When my Dad was in the Army, we were stationed in London, in fact my Dad's office was right across from Harrod's. I was in the 4th grade, but I remember all the sites we visited, the tower of London, Big Ben. On one of my class field trips we visited Hampton Court, my first exposure to the King who had so many wives, and had 2 of them beheaded. I remember the grand hall at Hampton Court, it seemed so grand and regal for a little 4th grader!
I'm on page 60 and the story is pulling me in, I love it so far!

Ok, going to have to check if it was one wife he had beheaded or two, I know he had 6 wives. And when he was younger, he was quite handsome, then a knee injury caused him to become overweight.


When were you in England, for when and how long, did you see alot of neat places?

I would love to go back!!!

I went to London back in 1980? - when Braniff started flying there we pilots' families were able to go for $90 for flight and hotel for 2 nights. Then I went again a couple of years later and took my boys. Then went when son Chris studied at Trinity College in Dublin for a year. We spent Christmas vacation in London with him.

Merty, one of our memorable visits related to the Boleyn girls and Henry VIII was to Hampton Court. I can just imagine the king and his court floating down the Thames from the Tower in London to Hampton Court. The palace is grand, isn't it. I remember the maze, the gardens, the greenhouse, and all those chimneys of different shapes. If you find the online site you can see that now Hampton Court can be rented for parties, conferences, weddings, etc! That would be a special place for an event!

There was a young teacher from Hayes
Took her class to the Hampton Court Maze
They got thoroughly lost
At a reasonable cost
The children and teacher from Hayes.

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