The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Charity Shop: Cancer Research UK, Arundel, East Sussex
Charity: Cancer Research UK fund scientists, doctors and nurses to help beat cancer sooner. They also provide cancer information to the public
Price: £1.50 (expensive down south)
Book Blurb: Mary Boleyn catches the eye of Henry VIII when she comes to court as a girl of fourteen. Dazzled by the golden pronce, Mary's joy is cut short when she discovers that she is a pawn in the dynastic plots of her family. When the caprious king's interest wanes, Mary is ordered to pass on her knowledge of how to please him to her friend and rival: her sister, Anne. // Anne soon becomes irresistible to Henry, and Mary can do nothing but watch her ambitious sister's rise. From now on, Mary will be no more than the other Boleyn girl. But beyond the court is a man who dares to challenge the power of her family to offer Mary a life of freedom and passion. If only she has the courage to break away - before the Boleyn enemies turn on the Boleyn girls...
Expectation: Having paid attention in Primary school, I know the ending to the book and it wasn't going to be a happy one (for anyone not aware of Tudor history, the fate of Henry's wives were 'divorced, beheaded, died // divorced, beheaded, survived'. Anne was the second wife...) I knew nothing about Mary Boleyn, so how this ending came about I hadn't a clue. I expected it to be a book of two parts, Mary's time as Henry's lover, then Anne's turn.
Reality: The change was a lot more fluid than I expected, and I didn't realise there were children involved! It is quite a shocking story, and portrays an incredibly shallow and fickle society. Not one I would like to be part of. At one point Mary is sent away to her family home where she becomes acquainted with and begins to love country life away from court. She ends up marrying for love, resulting in a massive drop in her social standing, but meaning she is free to live. I read the story in disbelief, but I looked up the history after and all characters and events existed (with massive speculation on the part of Philippa Gregory regarding motivation for people's actions) Further reading rounds indicates it is not as historically accurate as first assumed with the more generally accepting historical view portraying Mary as not the sweet innocent child that Philippa Gregory created.
Characters: Mary (like Hannah in the Queen's fool) is portrayed as supremely naive, and the story is told from her point of view. Anne does not have a decent bone in her body and reminded me of Joffrey from Game of Thrones without the love of gore. George (their brother) is a bit of an enigma but seems nice enough.
Overall Rating
It was a struggle 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gripping page
to make it turner
It was a long book, but really good. I would have appreciated a bit more character depth.
Twist Scale:
Knew the beginning, As twisty as the
middle and end 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 bendy wendy road
from the first line
I couldn't work out what was going to happen next, and Phillipa Gregory has a style of announcing major plot developments very curtly. e.g. That was the last time I saw him alive (wait, what?!)
I couldn't work out what was going to happen next, and Phillipa Gregory has a style of announcing major plot developments very curtly. e.g. That was the last time I saw him alive (wait, what?!)
Tear-jerker Scale:
As dry as a house 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cried an ocean
throughout
It was quite sad as Mary was separated from her children and obviously the ending too, but most sad was Katherine of Aragon's dignified fall from grace.
Moral of the Story: Ugh Tudor Courts, glad we've got rid of absolute Monarchy.
Coming up: The Railway Viaduct by Edward Marston
Story of my life (aka Walking Wanders)
Whilst still fresh in my mind I'll give you the story of the three peaks.
At 5.30am we awoke to a noisy campsite full of campers preparing to set off on a 25 mile walk. Aiming to leave at 6, we eventually 'checked in' at the cafe with an official start time 6.33am. Initially setting off in the wrong direction, I conceded that following the crowd was probably a good plan so off we went in the right direction (meeting a couple who had checked in at the same time as us reappearing from a different false start) Through a gate and upwards we headed with Pen-y-ghent in site periodically disappearing into the clouds and subsequently reappearing. A line of fellow walkers stretched as far as the eye could see. Initially we were being regularly over taken by keen beans, but as we neared the steep scramble we caught up with a large group of people walking for Pancreatic Cancer Action all in purple t-shirts and carrying balloons. The younger children were struggling with the steep climb, so it was our chance to do some overtaking. At 7.45am we arrived at the summit of Pen-y-ghent, still periodically in cloud but clear enough to admire the view. Photo, food and drink later onwards we marched. Armed with our trekking poles, an impedance on the upwards scramble, we flew down hill overtaking great swathes of walkers en route, competitive Becca had appeared. Marching onwards we set our break target as Ribblehead Viaduct which remained stubbornly far away or out of view. Hunger spurred us on and at 10.20am we arrived at the crossroads by the viaduct with a welcomed tea and coffee van. A slow service combined with a very hot cup of tea gave us time for a longer break until we were sufficiently energised to continue. Setting off, we followed the path to the viaduct (stopping to take a photo of a train crossing it) and continued along the edge of the railway crossing at an aqueduct just before it disappeared into a tunnel. Upwards we walking until we reached the well-hidden (on the other side of the wall and through an almost impassable stile) summit of Wernside at 12.20pm. Quick snack stop and no view (clouds :-( )later we continued down the Wernside staircase. With legs like Jelly at the bottom our pace slowed but we continued to Phlippin' snack bar (that I was very disappointed to discover was infact called Philpin snack bar) The rain had eventually caught up with us so the barn with benched provide much welcomed shelter. Reenergised with Bacon butties and tea off we went to conquer the last peak. By this time tiredness was clearly setting in as I can't remember exact timings. I think we left Phlippin at ~1.30. Upwards we climbed into the clouds and as we scrambled higher the wind got faster making progress tricky. Nearing the top, a couple climbing down said 'not far now, it's a bit confusing at the top but keep going straight and you'll make it' Reaching the top in the howling wind and dense cloud we were faced with a flat rocky plateau, so on the fellow walker's advice we headed straight and eventually the trig point appeared in the mist with the four way benches. Mysteriously none of the other walkers joined us, but rather opted to head to the left. Being dense fog I don't know where they were going, they all returned a few minuted later, can anyone shed any light? I did climb up to double check we were definitely at the trig point. A couple minute sit down and the challenge now was to find where we came up from and retrace our steps down hill before taking a sharp right toward the finish. Luckily a line of walkers as part of a group who were waiting for each other to catch up marked the way back to the descent, but by now the rain had started and in combination with the howling wind was unbelievably painful. Holding my hands to my face and struggling to not be blown over I followed a pair of feet in front of me off the mountain, periodically checking the feet belonged to Hannah. A couple of minutes later with the wind managebly calmer I realised we were no longer on the path we headed up on. Hannah explained that we had cut the corner and were already on the path back to Horton. Surveying the line of walkers in front of us, I conceeded this was true. Now the wind and rain were no longer conspiring to torture my face (in future, wear buff on top of Inglebrough!) I happily continued our downward march. On and on we went until Horton appeared in site. On arrival you come out of a field and into the railway station where immediately you need to cross the tracks. Having explored the dead-ends of Horton in our attempt to find the campsite the day previous, we successfully made it back to the Cafe at 5.25pm, 10hrs and 52minutes after we had bid it farewell that morning. And so ended the walk, to the pub!
Accomodation: Holme farm campsite, Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Well priced, friendly enough owners. Run by 3 guys who liked to sport Hi-vis. Reception is in a very wierd tent/shed thing. Basic but adequate facilities with washing up liquid and sponge provided, bonus. Downside it was very over crowded and noisy. I'm sure they were breaking some sort of regulation regarding tent spacings. They have a monopoly on the three peaks campers.
Food:
- Tea/coffee van at the Ribblehead viaduct road junction - run by one lady, very slow service, decent tea served in polystyrene cup.
- Philpin snack bar - van parked in barn with tables and seat and toilet provided. About 6 people in tiny van meant speedy service. Price and quality of food/drink indistiguishable from aforementioned van, but need for speed recognised. They offer camping here, would consider it if I did it again.
- The Red lion hotel - Had our evening meal here and after a 25 mile walk with a mile ascent, any food tastes nice. The pub was nice and cosy with a fire (not on) in the back room. For food you get a ticket and go to the dining room. This frees up space in the pub and means you can get food straight away. Don't go for a gastronomic experience, I've had better lasagnes!
It was quite sad as Mary was separated from her children and obviously the ending too, but most sad was Katherine of Aragon's dignified fall from grace.
Moral of the Story: Ugh Tudor Courts, glad we've got rid of absolute Monarchy.
***
Coming up: The Railway Viaduct by Edward Marston
Story of my life (aka Walking Wanders)
Whilst still fresh in my mind I'll give you the story of the three peaks.
At 5.30am we awoke to a noisy campsite full of campers preparing to set off on a 25 mile walk. Aiming to leave at 6, we eventually 'checked in' at the cafe with an official start time 6.33am. Initially setting off in the wrong direction, I conceded that following the crowd was probably a good plan so off we went in the right direction (meeting a couple who had checked in at the same time as us reappearing from a different false start) Through a gate and upwards we headed with Pen-y-ghent in site periodically disappearing into the clouds and subsequently reappearing. A line of fellow walkers stretched as far as the eye could see. Initially we were being regularly over taken by keen beans, but as we neared the steep scramble we caught up with a large group of people walking for Pancreatic Cancer Action all in purple t-shirts and carrying balloons. The younger children were struggling with the steep climb, so it was our chance to do some overtaking. At 7.45am we arrived at the summit of Pen-y-ghent, still periodically in cloud but clear enough to admire the view. Photo, food and drink later onwards we marched. Armed with our trekking poles, an impedance on the upwards scramble, we flew down hill overtaking great swathes of walkers en route, competitive Becca had appeared. Marching onwards we set our break target as Ribblehead Viaduct which remained stubbornly far away or out of view. Hunger spurred us on and at 10.20am we arrived at the crossroads by the viaduct with a welcomed tea and coffee van. A slow service combined with a very hot cup of tea gave us time for a longer break until we were sufficiently energised to continue. Setting off, we followed the path to the viaduct (stopping to take a photo of a train crossing it) and continued along the edge of the railway crossing at an aqueduct just before it disappeared into a tunnel. Upwards we walking until we reached the well-hidden (on the other side of the wall and through an almost impassable stile) summit of Wernside at 12.20pm. Quick snack stop and no view (clouds :-( )later we continued down the Wernside staircase. With legs like Jelly at the bottom our pace slowed but we continued to Phlippin' snack bar (that I was very disappointed to discover was infact called Philpin snack bar) The rain had eventually caught up with us so the barn with benched provide much welcomed shelter. Reenergised with Bacon butties and tea off we went to conquer the last peak. By this time tiredness was clearly setting in as I can't remember exact timings. I think we left Phlippin at ~1.30. Upwards we climbed into the clouds and as we scrambled higher the wind got faster making progress tricky. Nearing the top, a couple climbing down said 'not far now, it's a bit confusing at the top but keep going straight and you'll make it' Reaching the top in the howling wind and dense cloud we were faced with a flat rocky plateau, so on the fellow walker's advice we headed straight and eventually the trig point appeared in the mist with the four way benches. Mysteriously none of the other walkers joined us, but rather opted to head to the left. Being dense fog I don't know where they were going, they all returned a few minuted later, can anyone shed any light? I did climb up to double check we were definitely at the trig point. A couple minute sit down and the challenge now was to find where we came up from and retrace our steps down hill before taking a sharp right toward the finish. Luckily a line of walkers as part of a group who were waiting for each other to catch up marked the way back to the descent, but by now the rain had started and in combination with the howling wind was unbelievably painful. Holding my hands to my face and struggling to not be blown over I followed a pair of feet in front of me off the mountain, periodically checking the feet belonged to Hannah. A couple of minutes later with the wind managebly calmer I realised we were no longer on the path we headed up on. Hannah explained that we had cut the corner and were already on the path back to Horton. Surveying the line of walkers in front of us, I conceeded this was true. Now the wind and rain were no longer conspiring to torture my face (in future, wear buff on top of Inglebrough!) I happily continued our downward march. On and on we went until Horton appeared in site. On arrival you come out of a field and into the railway station where immediately you need to cross the tracks. Having explored the dead-ends of Horton in our attempt to find the campsite the day previous, we successfully made it back to the Cafe at 5.25pm, 10hrs and 52minutes after we had bid it farewell that morning. And so ended the walk, to the pub!
Accomodation: Holme farm campsite, Horton-in-Ribblesdale. Well priced, friendly enough owners. Run by 3 guys who liked to sport Hi-vis. Reception is in a very wierd tent/shed thing. Basic but adequate facilities with washing up liquid and sponge provided, bonus. Downside it was very over crowded and noisy. I'm sure they were breaking some sort of regulation regarding tent spacings. They have a monopoly on the three peaks campers.
Food:
- Tea/coffee van at the Ribblehead viaduct road junction - run by one lady, very slow service, decent tea served in polystyrene cup.
- Philpin snack bar - van parked in barn with tables and seat and toilet provided. About 6 people in tiny van meant speedy service. Price and quality of food/drink indistiguishable from aforementioned van, but need for speed recognised. They offer camping here, would consider it if I did it again.
- The Red lion hotel - Had our evening meal here and after a 25 mile walk with a mile ascent, any food tastes nice. The pub was nice and cosy with a fire (not on) in the back room. For food you get a ticket and go to the dining room. This frees up space in the pub and means you can get food straight away. Don't go for a gastronomic experience, I've had better lasagnes!
