The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn - Alison Weir

The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, in May 1536 was unprecedented in English history. It was sensational in its day, and has exerted endless fascination over the minds of historians, novelists, dramatists, poets, artists and film-makers ever since.Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London on 2 May 1536, and tried and found guilty of high treason on 15 May. Her supposed crimes included adultery with five men, one her own brother, and plotting the King's death.Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading up to her arrest. Was it Henry VIII who, estranged from Anne, instructed Master Secretary Thomas Cromwell to fabricate evidence to get rid of her so that he could marry Jane Seymour? Or did Cromwell, for reasons of his own, construct a case against Anne and her faction, and then present compelling evidence before the King? Or was Anne, in fact, guilty as charged?Never before has there been a book devoted entirely to Anne Boleyn's fall. Alison Weir has reassessed the evidence, demolished many romantic myths and popular misconceptions, and rewritten the story of Anne's fall, creating a richly researched and impressively detailed portrait of the dramatic last days of one of the most influential and important figures in English history.

Published: 2009-10-01 (Jonathan Cape)

ISBN: 9780224063197

Language: English

Format: Hardcover, 432 pages

Goodreads' rating: -

Genres

Nonfiction European Literature Tudor Period British Literature English History Biography Historical

Reviews

Johna rated it

I thought this was one of Weir's better nonfiction books. She resists the temptation to demonize either Anne or her opponents, and the book's written in a gripping style. My only real caveat is that Weir seemed to rely too heavily on Cavendish's description of George Boleyn to make a case for his being sexually promiscuous and even sexually predatory, though she herself notes that Cavendish was hostile toward the Boleyn family. I thought that there, and also in her consideration of Anne's sexual past before she began her relationship with Henry, Weir could have stood to be more critical of her sources. Still, the good far outweighs the bad here: there's a lot of common sense. I especially enjoyed the chapter in which Weir discusses how Anne's image changed over the centuries.

Christin rated it

After some very meticulous research, Alison Weir has delivered a well balanced portrayal of the first English queen who was beheaded. She brings to light first person accounts of an event that was so shocking for the time period that there was no precedent for it. And her explanations for why Anne's situation became so dire so quickly lend a clarity that brings the reader as close to the truth as we can get.

Ambrosio rated it

Alison Weir examines the last five months of Anne Boleyn's life - from riding high as expectant mother of the next king, to dead on the block, in this fascinating new biography.Weir digs up a lot of previously unexamined primary sources, draws some new lines between old points, as well as examining what other historians have said on the subject - giving serious consideration to every single other Tudor scholar out there, from serious Starky, to overly romantic Strickland, and less-than-credible Warnicke, and so on.If I listed all of the great points about the book I would basically be quoting the whole book, but one thing in particular is how Weir makes a point that this wasn't just about Henry wanting to try getting a son with a new wife, it was also the result of a political battle between Cromwell and Anne, both determined to influence the king in opposite directions on the Reform issue. An example of Anne and Cromwell's power struggle - that February Anne had one of her priests give a sermon in the royal church where he compares Anne to Queen Esther and Cromwell to Haman!Another startling point was when Weir compares a few notes on the calender of events at the end and discovers that Anne did NOT as previously presumed, request the French swordsman when she got the guilty verdict - the executioner received his orders from Henry to come to England for a royal beheading - before Anne's trail began!

Coop rated it

Anne Boleyn is probably top 2 in my list of favorite historical personages. It's hard to find info about Anne Boleyn that I don't already know from being obsessed with her, and Weir did a great job of providing me with new information about Anne's "trial" and fall. She also gives background on the times, elaborates on various historical theories, and talks a little bit about Elizabeth and Mary as well. I really super enjoyed this.

Heinrick rated it

Forget all about the scandals and corruptions you have read in the headlines. The historical documents and evidence Alison Weir presents about the railroading of Henry VIII's second wife to be executed in front of the English on fictitious charges will make the hair on your arms stand up in alarm. Weir explains how the popular culture of the time and political factions in the royal courts throughout Europe made the accusations of Queen Anne Boleyn committing incest, promoting lechery, treason, and murder believable in Western Europe's eyes. She even goes further to show that Henry VIII was not the only to gain something from the death of Anne. Each accuser and royal court in Europe had something to gain from the fall of the queen of England. Even if you are not familiar with the history of this specific time period, Weir gives you enough background to make it easy to follow without sounding condescending or making it boring for an expert historian. I highly recommend the book for anyone interested in seeing what real scandal looks like or just interested in something different from what you normally read.