Sisters Mary (Scarlett Johansson, left) and Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) are rivals for the love of King Henry VIII in the film The Other Boleyn Girl, based on the novel by Philippa Gregory. (Alex Bailey/Columbia Pictures)
Britain’s Tudors have re-emerged in pop culture over the past couple of years, thanks in part to a sexed-up miniseries about a lusty King Henry VIII and several films about his long-reigning daughter, Elizabeth I. Fans of Philippa Gregory might argue that this Tudor renaissance dates back to 2002, when the best-selling historical novelist released The Other Boleyn Girl, an engrossing literary bodice-ripper devoured by readers around the globe. The book also spawned a lavish Hollywood adaptation starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana, which opens Feb. 29.
Gregory’s novel casts the story of Anne Boleyn’s seduction of the already-married Henry in a new light. The book, and the movie, recounts the tale from the viewpoint of Anne’s little-known sister, Mary (Johansson) — who, incidentally, warmed the bed of the lascivious king (Bana) before her ambitious sibling (Portman) got there.
In a recent chat with CBCNews.ca, Gregory spoke about how she happened upon her heroine, Mary Boleyn, by chance, the importance of Tudor headdresses, and why we’re still captivated by this long-dead dynasty.
Q: You describe yourself as a feminist. How does this factor into your writing?
A: I’m very interested in women’s stories. I’m interested in the women who succeed and who struggle despite these disadvantages. These are the heroines of my studies and the heroines of my novels.
Q: How did you discover Mary Boleyn?
A: I was looking at the Tudor navy, looking at an account of a Tudor naming of ships. Henry launched this ship and it was called Mary Boleyn. I had never heard of Mary Boleyn, like pretty well everyone else in the world…. I came across this name that occurs really in the footnotes and in the indices of Tudor history.
What struck me at once was that she was Anne Boleyn’s sister; that when Anne came to court, Mary was forced to retreat into the background by her family. That she became Anne’s lady-in-waiting. And at once I went, this has got to be an extraordinary story of female rivalry.
Even more interestingly, [Mary] left the court of her own volition. She found a man that she wanted to marry who was not of her family’s choosing. Nobody does this in the Tudor period. This just doesn’t happen — and she left the court and lived in the country. An incredible development for a Tudor woman.
Q: The Other Boleyn Girl includes vivid colour from the era, including details about crops grown at the time and nuances about court fashion. Can you talk about your research?
Philippa Gregory, author of the novel The Other Boleyn Girl. (Sigrid Estrada/HarperCollins Canada)
A: I just make it my job to read extremely extensively. I never say, “I don’t know what they’re eating, so I need to make up a dish.” I go: “I don’t know what they’re eating. I’d better find out.”
For instance, I’m an absolute enthusiast about the significance of the Tudor hood in the court, which absolutely indicates to the Tudors a code: whether the girl is influenced by France or not. That’s a whole code about morality as well. You have to be a woman to be interested in that sort of thing. Male historians are not interested in it. I think it’s absolutely riveting.
Q: How important is this research?
A: It gives me a real authority to talk about the period. There’s nobody going to say to me, “Did you know such and such?” and I won’t know it. The pleasure for me, then, is that I can then relax and write the novel. I don’t start writing the novel until I am as confident of the historical record as if I was going to sit down and write a biography.
Q: How comfortable are you with sections of the film version that are a departure from your novel?
A: The film is not a mirror of the novel; it has to work as a film on its own account. I think it does that very strongly and powerfully.... If you want to know how I write novels, there’s the novel — sold in the millions, very successful. I’m very pleased about it. If you want to know how one company turned that into a film, that film is out now.
Q: Given the recent spate of TV serials, movies and feature films about the Tudors, what do you think it is about this family that continues to fascinate the public today — especially since so many already know the story?
A: The Tudors speak to people in a very powerful way. We know quite a lot about them. Most of us have studied them in school. They’re quite memorable — Henry with his six wives — and there’s a sense of familiarity.
Also, you have this extraordinary court of about 200 people who sit at the very pinnacle of England and they are as beautiful and as educated and as adorned in gold and diamonds and beautiful fabrics as the whole of England can afford. They are a very attractive court to look at. And then, in addition to that, they are absolutely riven and troubled and torn apart by these rivalries for power.
Q: Do you think the interest is a reflection of our obsession with celebrity culture?
A: We still use women as a kind of ornament for men and we’re still interested in them as beautiful objects, but in terms of the risk that Tudor women take when they stand out in the crowd, it was actually much worse than it is for celebrities today.
One sees that it can be pretty bad for celebrities, but Anne Boleyn was beheaded for upsetting Henry VIII. It’s an extraordinary punishment for disagreeing with your husband.
The Other Boleyn Girl opens Feb. 29.
Jessica Wong writes about the arts for CBCNews.ca.
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