My only experience with romance novels has been to deconstruct one for a women’s studies class in college. So when my cousin tried to get me to read Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl a couple of years ago, I resisted. It looked like a romance novel. “I don’t do romance,” I told the next three or four people who encouraged me to read the book. But then my book group chose it to be the our February book. And I buckled down to read a “romance” novel.
I was immediately caught up in the history. The book is extremely well-researched and filled with lots of great historical details. History is definitely something “I do”. Especially historical fiction. Gradually I grew more and more involved with the book. My complaints about romance were forgotten as I grew to care about the characters. I began to enjoy their romances and flirtations. I was emotionally involved.
It’s not like I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was a history major, I knew the beheading was coming (if you didn’t know this, you need to read some history textbooks before you do any more pleasure reading). But I stayed up late, reading like it was a brand-new story.
The Other Boleyn Girl is not great literature. But it is an amazing story; one that I recommend highly. The historical detail is meticulous and the way it’s woven into the story is a great way to learn something while reading for fun.
(The movie comes out next week. I’ll be comparing later.)
