The Other Boleyn Girl

In The Other Boleyn Girl, British author Philippa Gregory presents a fictionalized version of the life of Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister and a one-time sister-in-law to Henry VIII. Spanning the 1520s and 1530s, the novel chronicles Anne's story through the eyes of her sister, adding a new and unexpected perspective on a legendary historical figure. The Other Boleyn Girl, published by Scribner in 2001, was a New York Times bestseller, and Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon, The Crown) adapted it into a major motion picture in 2008.

The novel opens as Mary watches the execution of her uncle, the Duke of Buckinghamshire, at the royal court. The Duke had publicly said that King Henry would die without fathering a son. This is nothing short of treasonous in Henry's eyes, and he orders the beheading of the Duke.

A year goes by, and there is still no male heir for Henry. Anne joins Mary at court, whereupon Mary weds William Carey. Meanwhile, the girls' father and Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, see an opportunity to manipulate their way into the King's good graces. They form a plan in which they will install Anne as Henry's mistress, and she will have his sons, and the Boleyns and the Howards will have the favor of the King.



However, things don't quite work out as they had hoped. Anne inadvertently causes a hunting accident that injures Henry. He chooses Mary to nurse him back to health, and she soon begins an affair with him, even developing genuine affection for the bombastic king. Henry pays off William with substantial land and money. Then, Mary learns she is pregnant. With the hopes of the King, two families, and an entire kingdom pinned on Mary birthing a boy, she has a girl, whom she names Catherine after Henry's current wife, Catherine of Aragon. Though the arrival of another girl devastates everyone involved, Mary continues her affair with Henry.

Not long after, Mary learns she is again pregnant. That's when the Boleyns and the Howards fear that Henry will tire of Mary—especially if she has another girl—so they plant Anne at court as a means of distraction. Anne flirts and spends time with Henry, who ultimately pulls away from Mary. But when Mary gives birth to a boy, named Henry after his father, she is again back in favor with the King.

It is not enough for Mary, however. Because her children are not legitimate, Mary's family raises them in the country, and she rarely gets to see them. She decides to visit them for a week, but by the time she returns to court, everything has changed: Henry is now openly pursuing Anne.



A year goes by, with Henry courting Anne one moment and Mary the next. As he does so, he tries to find a way to divorce Catherine. With court opinion heavily on the side of a match between Henry and Anne, Mary's husband William reenters the picture, reminds Mary that they are still married, and informs her that he would like to resume their relationship. Because Henry does seem to favor Anne, Mary returns to William, even though she fully understands and accepts the fact that she does not love him.

Shortly thereafter, William dies of a mysterious sweating sickness that makes its way through sixteenth-century England. Relieved, Mary now looks forward to raising her children on her own in the country.

Anne, however, has her sights set on Mary's children, too; namely, on little Henry. She adopts Henry so that the King will finally have a real son, but her motives are far from noble. She only does this to entice the King to marry her, knowing that he won't be able to refuse a male heir, no matter how illegitimate. Mary's heart breaks over this loss, but a local landowner named William Stafford comforts her.



As expected, the King cannot resist Anne, her charms, or her newly acquired son. Declaring himself the head of the Church of England, he banishes Catherine, and, in short order, marries Anne. Mary finally sees a way out of the drama of court life, and she escapes to the country, where she quietly marries William. However, no sooner are they wed than Anne demands that Mary return to court. Anne is pregnant and wants her sister by her side.

Anne gives birth to a girl, Elizabeth, and immediately sets out to have another child—ideally, a boy this time. She soon finds out she is pregnant again, only to have a miscarriage. That is when Anne suspects that Henry may be the one unable to provide a son. Therefore, she sleeps with her own brother, George, who is the subject of considerable gossip regarding his relationships with his male courtiers. He impregnates her, and she gives birth to a deformed child, which prompts rumors that Anne is a witch.

Before long, Henry grows bored with Anne. He lusts after Jane Seymour while gossip circulates about Anne's promiscuity and suspected witchery. Henry catches word of Anne's many rumored infidelities—including one with her own brother—and he orders George and George's friends executed while confining Anne to the Tower of London. Eventually, Anne receives a sentence of death.



Just as in the beginning of the novel, Mary attends an execution. However, this time, the doomed one is her sister Anne. Mary—happily married to William, with whom she has two more children—looks on as the executioner beheads her sister. With the Boleyn family's reputation and legacy in tatters, Mary, William, and the children finally return to the country, where Mary has always longed to be.