(4) Base Camp
The Other Boleyn Girl spans fifteen years, but it won't take you that long to read it. Reading this book is more like watching a soap opera than burying your nose in a history textbook—and that's not because it's steamier than an episode of How to Get Away with Murder, which would be Anne Boleyn's favorite show if she were alive today.
Philippa Gregory puts all the historical details in the novel, so if you don't know your Cardinal Wolseys from your Sir Thomas Mores, no problem. The book will clue you in whenever they appear on page. If you're ignorant of this time in history, don't let that scare you away. The real stars of the story are the emotions and motivations behind the Boleyns' actions, and Gregory illustrates them in vivid, easy-to-understand detail.