Anne and Angelica
Two things that might be interesting...
When I say Anne, I mean Anne Boleyn, and the funny thing is, it's not exactly about her. I just finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and its a tale told by Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister. I know I said in a previous review that the writing isn't what I'd call sophisticated, but you know what? I should've emphasized that this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The occasional run-on sentence does kind of distract, but I think it was great how simple the general narration was because the character-development of the main players were superb, particularly with Mary, and particularly with Mary's interactions with Anne. Mary, as many heroines go, is a beautiful girl, in a court full of beautiful girls, but the absolute best thing about her is what makes her Mary. We know at once that she's not as witty nor as clever as Anne. Mary isn't stupid, but she's simple-minded. She does what she's told, and if you think she'll later grow into her own, you're expecting too much. She is CONSISTENTLY obedient; consistently in-character, but the author writes her so well that you sympathize with her, rather than feel like you want to abandon her in the miserable situation she put herself in. She is so wonderfully imperfect, that when she has her moment of rebellion, you understand completely why she did it. Her flash of independent thinking was totally driven by her being her. She learns from her years of experience, but still she is limited by being in the shadow of her sister, Anne. Even when Mary was the center of attention in the first part of the book, you can see how cleverly the author makes sure the reader is aware that Anne is calling the shots. It was brilliant. Mary was perfect as far as characters go. Never a Sue. Driven by loyalty to her sister but in no way free of feeling jealousy and wrath. Anne and Mary's relationship is so elegantly complex, you really have to sit back and be fascinated. Between Mary and Anne, Anne is definitely the more ambitious one, but as singular as the purpose of these sisters are--furthering the Boleyn and Howard name in court and the monarchy--you can see the contrast of their personalities. Even Anne, evil Anne... isn't actually evil. Just when you think she's an all-out witch, she becomes completely human before your very eyes. You'll never love Anne in this book, but you can't label her as a demon, either. Their brother, George, was magnifiscent. He's bright and shiny, and you'd think he was lovable, but you catch those glimpses of the dark Boleyn ambition--you realize that in spite of his good nature, he is just as driven as Anne, just that he coats his machinations in sugar and truffles. I enjoyed watching these characters unfold.
Now I find out that they're doing a movie of this book, which is fine, but I'm a bit baffled about how they're handling the material. I read the summary for the movie and I hated how they made it sound like the book is all about a love-triangle between Mary, King Henry, and Anne. There's an element of that, of course. It's history, but all the other things surrounding it--the ambition, the courtly competition, the political implications, Queen "Katherine"--are all just as important if not more so. The love-triangle is minute compared to the brilliantly complex relationship of Anne and Mary in spite of their competition for King Henry's attentions. In fact, the only love there was came from Mary to the King. Anne never loved the King. The King couldn't rightly be considered loving Mary and then Anne. He was just a spoiled kid with a kingdom. And then of course, while I think Scarlett Johanassen would make a wonderful Mary, and Natalie Portman an exquisite Anne, I'm wondering what they're going to do about Mary being 14 when she first caught the eye of the King. Mary was married to William Carey when she was only 12. She was mistress to King Henry when she was 15. She gave birth to Henry's bastard child at... 16, I believe. All these important events... who will play the younger Mary and the younger Anne? Surely not Johannesen and Portman? They're too old! Unless the movie is all about their later years--in their 20s--which cuts out a HUGE-ASS chunk of character and historical development. I'd be sorry to see Johannesen taking on both the younger and older Mary because that just won't seem accurate. The main reason Mary could be told what to do--even sleep with the King--was because she was young and dependent on her elders. Even Anne was a year older than her. We'll see how this movie is scripted.
About Angelica, I have to admit that for a while, I did get blocked on how I would proceed. But I got over the hurdle. I don't usually panic about these things because I always seem to come out of it. I figure out how to de-block the story and I just keep on writing. I feel it's unnecessary to tell you readers "I'm blocked!" because that would cause some kind of silly panic. I know I'll be able to figure out a way, so why worry you guys, eh? Relaxing when you realize you're blocked helps so much more than freaking out and trying to de-block. You just sort of let it happen on its own.
I'm very sleepy right now. I think I'll catch some shut-eye. Not exactly professional, but they can bite me.
When I say Anne, I mean Anne Boleyn, and the funny thing is, it's not exactly about her. I just finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and its a tale told by Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister. I know I said in a previous review that the writing isn't what I'd call sophisticated, but you know what? I should've emphasized that this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The occasional run-on sentence does kind of distract, but I think it was great how simple the general narration was because the character-development of the main players were superb, particularly with Mary, and particularly with Mary's interactions with Anne. Mary, as many heroines go, is a beautiful girl, in a court full of beautiful girls, but the absolute best thing about her is what makes her Mary. We know at once that she's not as witty nor as clever as Anne. Mary isn't stupid, but she's simple-minded. She does what she's told, and if you think she'll later grow into her own, you're expecting too much. She is CONSISTENTLY obedient; consistently in-character, but the author writes her so well that you sympathize with her, rather than feel like you want to abandon her in the miserable situation she put herself in. She is so wonderfully imperfect, that when she has her moment of rebellion, you understand completely why she did it. Her flash of independent thinking was totally driven by her being her. She learns from her years of experience, but still she is limited by being in the shadow of her sister, Anne. Even when Mary was the center of attention in the first part of the book, you can see how cleverly the author makes sure the reader is aware that Anne is calling the shots. It was brilliant. Mary was perfect as far as characters go. Never a Sue. Driven by loyalty to her sister but in no way free of feeling jealousy and wrath. Anne and Mary's relationship is so elegantly complex, you really have to sit back and be fascinated. Between Mary and Anne, Anne is definitely the more ambitious one, but as singular as the purpose of these sisters are--furthering the Boleyn and Howard name in court and the monarchy--you can see the contrast of their personalities. Even Anne, evil Anne... isn't actually evil. Just when you think she's an all-out witch, she becomes completely human before your very eyes. You'll never love Anne in this book, but you can't label her as a demon, either. Their brother, George, was magnifiscent. He's bright and shiny, and you'd think he was lovable, but you catch those glimpses of the dark Boleyn ambition--you realize that in spite of his good nature, he is just as driven as Anne, just that he coats his machinations in sugar and truffles. I enjoyed watching these characters unfold.
Now I find out that they're doing a movie of this book, which is fine, but I'm a bit baffled about how they're handling the material. I read the summary for the movie and I hated how they made it sound like the book is all about a love-triangle between Mary, King Henry, and Anne. There's an element of that, of course. It's history, but all the other things surrounding it--the ambition, the courtly competition, the political implications, Queen "Katherine"--are all just as important if not more so. The love-triangle is minute compared to the brilliantly complex relationship of Anne and Mary in spite of their competition for King Henry's attentions. In fact, the only love there was came from Mary to the King. Anne never loved the King. The King couldn't rightly be considered loving Mary and then Anne. He was just a spoiled kid with a kingdom. And then of course, while I think Scarlett Johanassen would make a wonderful Mary, and Natalie Portman an exquisite Anne, I'm wondering what they're going to do about Mary being 14 when she first caught the eye of the King. Mary was married to William Carey when she was only 12. She was mistress to King Henry when she was 15. She gave birth to Henry's bastard child at... 16, I believe. All these important events... who will play the younger Mary and the younger Anne? Surely not Johannesen and Portman? They're too old! Unless the movie is all about their later years--in their 20s--which cuts out a HUGE-ASS chunk of character and historical development. I'd be sorry to see Johannesen taking on both the younger and older Mary because that just won't seem accurate. The main reason Mary could be told what to do--even sleep with the King--was because she was young and dependent on her elders. Even Anne was a year older than her. We'll see how this movie is scripted.
About Angelica, I have to admit that for a while, I did get blocked on how I would proceed. But I got over the hurdle. I don't usually panic about these things because I always seem to come out of it. I figure out how to de-block the story and I just keep on writing. I feel it's unnecessary to tell you readers "I'm blocked!" because that would cause some kind of silly panic. I know I'll be able to figure out a way, so why worry you guys, eh? Relaxing when you realize you're blocked helps so much more than freaking out and trying to de-block. You just sort of let it happen on its own.
I'm very sleepy right now. I think I'll catch some shut-eye. Not exactly professional, but they can bite me.