Gregory continues her tale of the Tudor family with The Boleyn Inheritance. There has been a slight jump in time since Anne Boleyn was killed at the conclusion of The Other Boleyn Girl. In fact, Henry VIII has fathered a son with his next wife, Jane Seymour, who died from complications of the birth. Now that he is single once again, Henry sets his target on wedding once more. This time, the choice is made for political reasons. Anne of Cleves, the older sister of the Duke of Cleves (in Bavaria), would be a great way to tie England to Cleves and a number of other Protestant Kingdoms in Europe in the hopes of building a coalition to defend against Catholic France and Spain.

Anne is actually one of three narrators in this novel and is joined by Katherine "Kitty" Howard, the cousin of Anne Boleyn, and Jane Boleyn (Lady Rochford), the sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn through her brother George and one of the witnesses who provided a statement that led to the conviction and execution of the two siblings.

Anne quickly finds herself uncomfortable in a court that is less than modest and with a husband that is nearly twice her age of 24. She is barely able to speak English, and she seems unable to make many friends at the court. The one exception is Jane Boleyn, who feels pity for the German.

The marriage proves to be a disaster as the elder king is unable to actually consummate the marriage, nevermind, sire a child with her. As things were likely to lead, Henry quickly sets his eyes on another potential mother of his future children. Kitty Howard, who is just a teen, seems to really capture his attention thanks to her flirtatious nature.

As it becomes clear that Kitty will be replacing Anne as Henry's wife, Anne cannot help but wonder if she will find herself at the chopping block. And even once she is removed, there is always the question of whether Kitty will be able to fulfill Henry's expectations and needs.

I have to admit that I didn't know much about of Anne of Cleves or Katherine Howard, which made this volume particularly interesting to me. Court intrigues abound as the usual families are still trying to position themselves closer to the throne. Ironically, this endangers the women who are involved as Henry has little patience for tomfoolery and a quick temper. Usually, his feelings of betrayal lead to someone being executed.

Each of the three narrators are strong women. I found it really interesting that they really did not hold anything against the others even as they often caused major problems for each other. In fact, there were times that they provided the one thread of sanity or support for each other as they traveled through Henry's parade of wives.

The title provides an interesting twist. As all thee of the woman have ties to the Boleyn estate for various reasons, it can be assumed that it is about money and land, but really it is about an inheritance the kingdom now has as a result of the Mary and Anne Boleyn's relationships with the king and how it changed things for everyone.

If you like historical fiction of the period, this is definitely one you should take a look at.