The Other Boleyn Girl -

Philippa Gregory

Harper

2008

532 páginas

17h 44m

ISBN-13: 9780007262809

Everyone knows the fate of Anne Boleyn, but not many know the story of her rise to majesty and the part played by her rival and sister, Mary, who was Henry's mistress and mother to two of his bastard children before the dazzling older Boleyn girl even caught his eye. Philippa Gregory, whose own role as the Queen of historical romance grows more secure with each new novel, has surpassed her self with this epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal. The Other Boleyn Girl charts the lives of both Boleyns--each in their turn "the other Boleyn Girl"--and their fiercely ambitious, conniving family who used the girls as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII. At 13, Mary is little more than a child when she is presented to Henry, ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by opening her legs whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great monarch desires. And while his loins are satisfied, life at court is sweet for the unofficial Queen and her pushy coterie. Inevitably though, the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary is overlooked, helpless to do anything but aid her family's plot to advance their fortunes, replace her with Anne and give Henry the greatest gift of all: a son and heir.

Resenhas (5)

5 (Perfeito)

Impressões e sentimentos + Trechos (alguns) que amei

Esse livro é pura e simplesmente uma obra de arte, do início ao fim. Se já havia amado a escrita de Philippa Gregory em "The other queen", agora esse sentimento só se solidificou. O trabalho que essa autora faz em cima de uma época histórica tão peculiar é de fato muito fascinante. A impressão que você vai ter ao ler o livro é que ela realmente esteve ali como um ser onisciente, vendo e ouvindo tudo. Difícil acreditar que cada pedacinho do que está escrito não seja real. Claro...é tudo muito fidedigno..tanto que sempre fico abismada quando vou pesquisar depois e vejo quantas coisas que estão retratadas ali de fato aconteceram. Mas tudo que ela adiciona como ficcional, como por exemplo os diálogos, são absurdamente críveis.
Além disso, toda essa história dos Tudor me fascina imensamente. Ana Bolena então, nem se fala...que mulher difícil de descrever...dá pra entender perfeitamente o porquê da autora escolher Maria Bolena como foco narrativo. Falo isso não como crítica e sim como elogio pelo bom senso e também pela forma grandiosa como trabalhou em cima dessa personagem mais secundária na história e com a qual - pelo menos nessa ficção - me apeguei demais.
Uma das melhores leituras do ano, certamente ficará marcada em mim para sempre, da mesma forma como o anterior já tinha feito. Pretendo ler o máximo que puder dessa autora, porém com um espaço bom entre os livros, pois são histórias bastantes densas, mas valem cada segundo. Dificilmente eu poderia colocar em palavras as tantas minúcias contidas nessa história e nas relações dos personagens..longe de mim. Só leiam.
Alguns trechos que gostei:

"Watch and learn, Mary. There is no room for mistakes at court". (mother Boleyn)

There could hardly be a world for me without Anne, there was hardly world enough for us both. (Mary B.)

But Queen Katherine was more to her husband than an ally in wartime. However much I might please Henry, he was still her boy - her lovely indulged spoilt golden boy. He might summon me or any other girl to his room, without disturbing the constant steady affection between them which had sprung from her ability, long ago, to love this man who was more foolish, more selfish, and less of a prince than she was a princess. (Mary B.)

Henry fell to his knees at the foot of the bed and prayed fervently. I listened to the muttered words and found that I was praying too: one powerless woman praying for another. I was praying for the queen now that the most powerful man in England was blaming her for leading him into mortal sin. (Mary B.)

"One Boleyn girl or the other". Her smile was as bitter as if she had been biting on a lemon. "We might either of us be Queen of England and yet we'll always be nothing to our family". (Anne B.)

"He must adore her," George said. "She flies at him and then she nestles. My God, I've never seen it so clearly. She is a passionate whore, isn't she? I'm her brother and I'd have her now. She could drive a man crazed". (George B. about Anne)

But Henry had passed a law, another new law, which said that English disputes could only be judged in English courts. Suddenly, there could be no legal appeal to Rome. I remembered telling Henry that Englishmen would like to see justice done in an English court, never dreaming that English justice would come to mean Henry's whim, just as the church had come to mean Henry's treasury, just as the Privy Council had come to mean Henry and Anne's favourites. (Mary B.)

"Amen to that," William said quietly, and drew me to him and kissed me on the lips and whispered privately in my ear: "I am going to love you like this forever". (Wlliam Stafford to Mary Boleyn.)

"Get up as soon as you can and conceive another, and it had better be a boy". (Mother Boleyn to Anne)

When Henry wanted a mind as quick and as unscrupulous as his, it would always be Anne. Jane had gone to pray for the dead queen, Anne would dance on her grave. (Mary B.)

"They're half Boleyn and half Tudor. My God, what a combination" (William Stafford)