The Book:

Written by Philippa Gregory (2001)

Gregory’s exceptional novel expertly weaves 16th-century wartime history with the previously untold story of Mary Boleyn, the titular “other” Boleyn girl.

With Mary as narrator, Gregory uses first-person prose to navigate a complex palatte of characters. She takes time to explain the intricacies of the royal English court starting in 1521, but the pace never slows. The reader is easily whisked through 735 pages of romantic England.

I loved the integration of history and real people. However, I’d like to offer a word of caution: Be prepared to want to skip paragraphs or even pages of narration. The dialogue drives this book so much, you’ll want to finish the action sequence, and go back to read what the landscape looks like later. Don’t feel guilty. I did it, too.

The Movie: (2008)

Directed by Justin Chadwick

Screenplay by Peter Morgan

Walking into the theater, I was thrilled to get another dose of Gregory’s imagination. Instead, I sat in my seat, biting my lip and asking myself when in the book certain scenes took place.

“That’s right!” I said to myself. “They weren’t in the book. Shucks.”

The acting is well-executed within the guidelines of a script that feels grossly unfinished in comparison to the book. Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman are two of my favorite actresses, and I never complain when Jim Sturgess is onscreen.

But after a while, I was convinced the movie was just a soap-opera interpretation of the novel.

The audience learns some important lessons, such as that Anne (Portman) was a snake and that Mary (Johansson) is still pretty without makeup. But they forgot to posit that the movie’s events actually changed England forever. Oops.

The only perk the movie had over the book was Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Elizabeth Boleyn. Gregory portrayed the Boleyn matriarch as a docile doormat. Scott Thomas brought a gentle command to the screen and reminded us that, above all else, Lady Boleyn was a mother of three.

And the winner is …

The book.

The movie was too sloppy to even come close to my impression of Gregory’s novel. I really wanted to like it but wound up so let down.

As I read, I kept Wikipedia open on my laptop, so that I could relearn about King Henry VIII and Anne and Mary Boleyn. My seventh-grade social studies teacher would be proud.

But alas, the movie studio couldn’t resist breaking out its cookie cutter and remaining loyal to its mantra that sex sells. Silly me, I thought the story was about people and power, with undertones of sex and betrayal. Not the other way around.

Shame on them. If this were 1536, heads would roll. I’m sure of it.