Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion
Nov 2013: The Other Boleyn Girl
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POST YOUR QUESTIONS FOR TOMORROWS HANGOUT!
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Felicia, Grand Duchess
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Nov 25, 2013 03:56PM
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A couple of people have brought up the issue of accuracy in an historical fiction novel. There are a lot of possible (and some almost certain) changes in The Other Boleyn Girl and in most of the rest of Philippa Gregory's work. (The Wikipedia article for the book has a nice list....)How important is the historical accuracy of a book to you? Are there things that an author might change from history that are OK? Where do you fall in the following (lighthearted) range:
0. History began when I was born, baby!
1. GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire (which is loosely inspired by The War of the Roses.)
2. The Bible.
3. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer.
4. Fox News.
5. Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor (it looks like America won that battle if you watch this movie.... None of the characters actually existed, but there are references to real people. Oh, and planes don't fly that way.)
6. Saving Private Ryan (in which only Americans apparently fought in/won WWII and quoting the Bible makes bullets go straight.)
7. JFK
8. Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down which is at least based on history and has a few real life characters and events in it....
9. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.
10. The Nixon Tapes with the missing content magically restored.
What is up with the whole sister rivalry thing?Do think it's different from fraternal rivalry or mixed sibling rivalry?
Anne Boleyn is one of the people in history I would love to meet. Historical fiction can take a lot of liberties with history. Do you think that Anne was a calculating as she seemed in the book or do you believe that she was more of a pawn who had to the play the game at her father and uncles command?
Do you feel that the decisions made by the author in regards to age and sexual behaviour was designed to make Mary appear more virginal and therefore 'good' and Anne as the more sexual assure and thus 'evil' sister? If not why do you think they made Mary the younger sister and a child bride while Anne was naturally more flirtatious?
A couple questions from the alt:Jackson or Death? Both? Neither?
Did the Stockholm Syndrome romance bother you, or did you like it?
Does this explain or apply to the Ann/Mary thing?"Evolution Explains Why Mean Girls Get the Guys"
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-b...
Gary wrote: "Does this explain or apply to the Ann/Mary thing?"Evolution Explains Why Mean Girls Get the Guys"
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-b......"
because there were no busses to hit them, duh!
Is it just me or does anyone else have the problem of going between the accurate depictions of Henry the VIII as he is seen in paintings, and the TV version of jonathan rhys meyers? It is really all quite confusing!
Tea & Strumpets Book Club wrote: "Is it just me or does anyone else have the problem of going between the accurate depictions of Henry the VIII as he is seen in paintings, and the TV version of jonathan rhys meyers? It is really al..."Henry when he was young, was in very good shape and was considered very good looking. It was not till after he had an accident at a tournament that his health issues started.
The story of Henry VII and Anne Boleyn is one of my favorite historical story's, of the power struggle between a man and a woman. The question I would like to ask everyone, if we were to strip away, status and the sex of both Henry and Anne, who do you think was superior in cunning and mental strength ?
Felicia wrote: "Hey guys, we ARE DOING THE HANGOUT TOMORROW. Sorry for the delay, I've had some scheduling issues happen, but we're on track! Post your questions for tomorrow, November 26th, that you want us tal..."What time is the live stream?
Haikufall wrote: "Tea & Strumpets Book Club wrote: "Is it just me or does anyone else have the problem of going between the accurate depictions of Henry the VIII as he is seen in paintings, and the TV version of j..."
I understand that, but it is still stuck in my head...
This happened to me with our recent Tea & Strumpets book pick, Dracula, as well. Don't get me wrong, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is not bad to look at; I just don't think he is an accurate Dracula figure. Sometimes I wonder if media is ruining my fiction reading! However, in the end I just think about Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and forget about it.
I understand that, but it is still stuck in my head...
This happened to me with our recent Tea & Strumpets book pick, Dracula, as well. Don't get me wrong, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is not bad to look at; I just don't think he is an accurate Dracula figure. Sometimes I wonder if media is ruining my fiction reading! However, in the end I just think about Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and forget about it.
I do love me some Sherlock Homes, and really the books are always better then the movie/Tv. Keep that in mind and you just take the media vision with a grain of salt.
It's not a question, more like a statement of gratitude towards Kiala for making me realise there are good historical-romance novels other than the classics. I became less of a snob thanks to the awesome choices.
Kamil wrote: "It's not a question, more like a statement of gratitude towards Kiala for making me realise there are good historical-romance novels other than the classics. I became less of a snob thanks to the ..."So now you have whole new genres of books to explore!
Haikufall wrote: "Henry when he was young, was in very good shape and was considered very good looking. It was not till after he had an accident at a tournament that his health issues started."That's true, but Meyers didn't do a whole Raging Bull thing to go with that aging process. The Holbein pictures of Henry, even when he was younger, are very different in features from JRM. I think he did a good job with the part (not exactly Peter O'Toole/Lawrence of Arabia) but his appearance often took me out of the series. Especially in the conclusion in which there's a whole "reveal" of that iconic painting as the denouement.
It reminds me (rather oddly) of Lou Diamond Phillips as Richie Valens....
Unable to help myself, I went and read The Constant Princess before picking up this one. That made for a bit of Tudor overload... but I'm glad I did it. It was a little much to go from one and immediately pick up the next (I generally mix things up a lot) but overall an interesting reading project/experience.In fact, now I'm kind of wishing I had gone back even further and started with The White Queen (#1 of The Cousin's War series.)
Reading a series in order and out of order: what are the merits or demerits? Of course, most of these books are "stand alone" texts, but is taking on the whole series better?
At what point do you "burn out" on a series or author?
I have not read, The White Queen sires, I did watch the show and liked it. I'm not sure if I liked it more then the Tudors.
What's your rutine when starting a new book? Do you "cheat" and read few pages ahead? Is there anything you must do to ensure full enjoyment like smelling the cover or appreciating the font that the ebook is displayed in?Do you have something you must do to avoid throwing the book across the room/bus/whatever when a book irritates you?
Haikufall wrote: "Felicia wrote: "Hey guys, we ARE DOING THE HANGOUT TOMORROW. Sorry for the delay, I've had some scheduling issues happen, but we're on track! Post your questions for tomorrow, November 26th, that..."The live stream should start at 8 PM PCT (11 pm for us east coasters - worth staying up for!) The link is usually found at Felicia's twitter account, sometimes at Geek and Sundry... and sometimes here as well when requested :)
