From Henry VIII with Love
PW Talks to Philippa Gregory
by Judi Goldenberg -- Publishers Weekly, 9/4/2006
The author of The Other Boleyn Girl returns to Henry VIII's court for The Boleyn Inheritance (reviews, Aug. 7), about three women whose lives intersect in friendship and betrayal.
The Boleyn Inheritance has three narrators (two wives of Henry VIII and one lady-in-waiting). Why these three?
Their stories overlap so much you can't understand one without understanding the motivation of the others. To Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard it's an eternal triangle story.... To Lady Rochford (the lady in waiting), it's almost a conspiracy story. She's going to destroy one queen, and she does in fact destroy the other.
Did the success of The Other Boleyn Girl either inspire or intimidate you as you sat down to write The Boleyn Inheritance?
Whether you sell four million copies, which I'm currently doing, or 40,000, which I've done in the past, the main thing is to be the writer. I'm not selling a book. I'm an artist trying to do the best I can with my craft.
What's so resonant about Tudor England?
I can't say for sure. It's a time of such intensity. Everybody knows that the average life expectancy is about 45. Most parents will bury children. People rise extraordinarily high in status, but if you put a foot wrong you can be executed for treason. And there's surely something about Henry VIII and the six extraordinary women who either enjoy him or manipulate him or were tormented by him.
My editor asked me to ask you if your editor has historical expertise.
(Laughs) I don't know. What would your editor like to hear in answer to that? One should always keep them happy. My English editor is well-educated and knowledgeable, so she has some expertise, but between the two of us I think we would both agree that I am the historical expert. My American editor is profoundly well-read and profoundly well-educated, but English history is not her specialty. So where it's coming from is undoubtedly me. I have to take both the blame and the credit.
What are you working on now?
I'm doing some research for the next book. It's going to be set sometime during the reign of Elizabeth I, and it's going to be set in northern England where I now live. It's on the way, which is what everybody is so anxious to know. I'll have it out as soon as I can.
