Like many people this side of the Atlantic, I discovered Philippa Gregory when The Other Boleyn Girl came out in trade paperback. I enjoyed it greatly, and have since read almost everything that’s available over here (the whole Tudor-era series, the Tradescant duology, and the totally trashy Wideacre trilogy). While I still become totally engrossed in them, I haven’t enjoyed her most recent books as much as the first two in the series (The Other Boleyn Girl, and The Queen’s Fool). As she’s written more, she’s moved from the style of those first ones — where the best-known historical figures are at the sidelines of the main action — to a more simple retelling of the well-known stories of the wives of Henry VIII, and of Elizabeth I. Frankly, I didn’t find that as interesting, but I’m sure the fact that I know that history quite well contributed.

Gregory’s prose, however, is certainly enjoyable, and I have always found her books easy to read. This latest volume expands upon two main themes introduced in earlier books: (1) Henry VIII was frightfully mentally ill, and (2) all the women in the Tudor court were total tramps. If either of these propositions is a stunning shock, I apologize for the spoiler. I figure it’s hard to spoil the ending of historical fiction, though — I mean, we all know who got beheaded and who didn’t.

All in all, I’d rank The Boleyn Inheritance at the bottom of this series, behind the two gardener books (which I’d rank between The Queen’s Fool and The Virgin’s Lover in quality), but still above the totally trashy Wideacre trilogy. I can’t imagine that any of her books are worse than the totally trashy Wideacre trilogy, but I still haven’t read A Respectable Trade, so I can’t say for sure.