The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory-Summary of the book

(Below is only a summary of the book I read, the actual interpretation using metacognition will come later, I just write the summary first to help me organize the plots of the book and help finish the interpretion)

The Boleyn Inheritance is a historical fiction by Philippa Gregory. It described the life of Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Jane Rochford, three noble women from the 16^th century Europe who share the same fate—the Boleyn inheritance. Before reading, I wonder to myself that what is the Boleyn inheritance. At first, I thought it means the title and wealth of the Boleyn family of England, but later, I learned that money and power are only the shallow surface of the whole concept. The story started when the threads of destiny of the three women entwined and led them all toward the English court of Henry VIII, everything changed. From a German noblewoman who had to tolerate her hateful family in her small country, Anne of Cleves became the Queen of the powerful country England. However, She was an independent, internally strong woman, and king did not like her as his wife. Still, she was the winner of a complex court game as well as a fortunate Boleyn inheritor. Being named as “the King’s Beloved Sister,” she lived a pleasant life away from her German family in the foreign country England which once belonged to her. Katherine Howard, started as a playful and vain teenager girl of a powerful English family, changed constantly in identity—from a new maid-in-waiting who served Queen Anne, she ascended to the throne for the King’s wives. Then, from “King Henry’s rose” in her own glorious vanity, fell into the damp and dark prison of Tower of London. The only thing unchangeable from the beginning was that she was always the pawn of her “beloved” uncle, her “reliable” Lady Jane; she was no more than a puppet in a play of power just like her “witch” cousin Anne Boleyn. Jane Rochford, the lady-in-waiting of Queen Anne and Queen Katherine, who once gave evidences to the incest and treason of her own beloved husband George Boleyn and her sister-in-law Anne Boleyn, which resulted in the death of the two, continue to hatch her plots in the court. With the Duke of Norfolk, she used Queen Katherine to gain power and favor for the Howard family. Despite being such a tactful and smooth woman, she still failed to save her own head from the scaffold, from her own “insanity”. In the end, Katherine Howard earned only the harsh punishment of the block that she would never deserve, for she was only a silly girl who was in love with a young man instead of the old senile king. Jane Rochford was executed in the same day with Katherine, for her mad, selfish love toward her husband, whom she gave away. Five years later, the reign of Henry Tudor ended with his death. Finally, Anne of Cleves survived by her own wit and kindness. She learned that for a woman, the most valuable gift is nothing more than freedom.