Little is known of either Boleyn girl’s early life in Norfolk, primarily at Blickling Hall and later at Hever Castle in Kent. Weir does not dispute these liaisons, but she examines the purported facts of Mary’s life and behavior and does her usual splendid job of separating fact from fiction, and dispelling historical myths-chief among them that Mary was, well, a bit of a goer. Until Philippa Gregory’s historical fiction novel The Other Boleyn Girlpropelled Mary into the forefront of the Tudor mania, she was an historical footnote-“Henry Rex Slept Here.” It is an accepted historical fact that Henry VIII had an affair with her, and that Francois I of France “had” her first. Was Mary Boleyn a tart, or a beautiful, well brought up young English girl who caught the eye of two powerful men who did not take “no” for an answer? Historian Alison Weir, in her latest book Mary Boleyn: The King’s Mistress (UK: Mary Boleyn: The Great and Infamous Whore), concludes the latter is the more accurate historical representation. History has long maligned the other Boleyn girl-Mary-as the slightly slutty sister of Anne, infamous for attracting the amorous attentions of two Renaissance kings, but failing to hold the attention of either and failing to profit (jewels, castles, titles) from either liaison. Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings By Alison Weir
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