pension of £100 a year. Sexual experience of Mary Boleyn. Mary is depicted in The Other Boleyn Girl as a sexually inexperienced young girl when she begins her affair with the king. In fact, however, she acquired a reputation for promiscuity at the court of Francis I of France, who stated that he had known her "per una grandissima ribalda, infame sopra tutti [a great slut, infamous above all]." Although Francis called her "the English mare," and estimated how often he had ridden her, Mary was never one of his favoured maitresse en titre. Due to her sexual laxness, she appears to have been recalled from the French court in 1519, shaming the Boleyn family. Genealogist Anthony Hoskins contradicts Mary Boleyn's reputation for having been sexually active at an early age; denies that Mary was extensively educated at the French court like her sister; and declares that "It is now established that it was Anne Boleyn, and not her sister Mary, who lived at the Flemish and French courts as a child," as if this fact had not been known for centuries. Hoskins further speculates that the French king's comments on Mary's reputation were not based on her early behaviour, claiming that he possibly had met her in 1520 at the Field of Cloth of Gold. In fact, both Mary and Anne spent time at the French court. Motivations and characterisation of Anne Boleyn. The Guardian described Anne as having been presented as "a scheming trollop," and expressed incredulity at such a characterisation. In The Other Boleyn Girl, Anne Boleyn is presented as cold, vindictive, ruthlessly ambitious, vain, and given to physical violence; this is not supported by contemporary accounts. She was certainly complex: highly intelligent, fluently bilingual, politically astute, artistically gifted, loyal to her family, generous to friends, and known for her charm and elegance, notwithstanding arrogance and a notorious temper when stressed. During her time abroad, she was reported to have been sweet and kind. Feminist scholars objected to Gregory's characterisation and praise Anne Boleyn as a feminist icon.<ref>Lindsey, Karen (1995) Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: a feminist reinterpretation ...</ref> Incest between Anne and George Boleyn. Historically, Anne Boleyn was charged by Henry's appointed officials of committing incest with her brother. The novel heavily implies but does not state that Anne, convinced that Henry VIII could not give her a healthy son, resorts to incest with her brother. Both the