The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn

by Alison Weir

Nearly five hundred years after her violent death, Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII, remains one of the world's most fascinating, controversial, and tragic heroines. Now acclaimed historian and bestselling author Alison Weir has drawn on myriad sources from the Tudor era to give us the first book that examines, in unprecedented depth, the gripping, dark, and chilling story of Anne Boleyn's final days.

The tempestuous love affair between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn scandalized Christendom and altered forever the religious landscape of England. Anne's ascent from private gentlewoman to queen was astonishing, but equally compelling was her shockingly swift downfall. Charged with high treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London in May 1536, Anne met her terrible end all the while protesting her innocence. There remains, however, much mystery surrounding the queen's arrest and the events leading up to Were charges against her fabricated because she stood in the way of Henry VIII making a third marriage and siring an heir, or was she the victim of a more complex plot fueled by court politics and deadly rivalry?

    The Lady in the Tower examines in engrossing detail the motives and intrigues of those who helped to seal the queen's fate. Weir unravels the tragic tale of Anne's fall, from her miscarriage of the son who would have saved her to the horrors of her incarceration and that final, dramatic scene on the scaffold. What emerges is an extraordinary portrayal of a woman of great courage whose enemies were bent on utterly destroying her, and who was tested to the extreme by the terrible plight in which she found herself. 

    Richly researched and utterly captivating, The Lady in the Tower presents the full array of evidence of Anne Boleyn's guilt—or innocence. Only in Alison Weir's capable hands can readers learn the truth about the fate of one of the most influential and important women in English history.

This edition contains a  The Lady in the Tower  discussion guide and an excerpt from Alison Weir's  Mary Boleyn.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Tudor Period, Historical, British Literature, Royalty

480 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Alison Weir is an English writer of history books for the general public, mostly in the form of biographies about British kings and queens, and of historical fiction. Before becoming an author, Weir worked as a teacher of children with special needs. She received her formal training in history at teacher training college. She currently lives in Surrey, England, with her two children.

Reviews

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Part of the Review In Which the Reviewer Rambles About Herself and Not the Book She's Reviewing:
Lately, I like to insist that "I liked the Tudors before they were cool!" (yes, I am a history hipster.) This isn't true, of course; people have been fascinated by the Tudors since the Victorian Age. But it is true that I was obsessed with this messed-up family long before Philippa Gregory jumped on the bandwagon. Karen Cushman was my gateway author into historic fiction in 4th grade, and it must have been soon after that that I first read about the Tudors - my first historic fiction book about them was either about Mary Boleyn or Mary Tudor, but they both shared two things: Anne Boleyn was heavily featured, and lord was she an evil conniving bitch. Naturally, I was intrigued. I found a historic fiction book from Anne's perspective, devoured it, and then read three more. Then I read about Elizabeth. Then Mary Boleyn again. Then Anne. Then Elizabeth. Repeat ad nauseum until I discover legit nonfiction history books, and learn how much the fictional accounts of these women's lives got wrong. Example: No one really knows for sure what order the Boleyn kids were born in (but the basic rule of historic fiction seems to be that if Anne is the narrator she's younger than Mary, and if Mary is the narrator she's the youngest child); Anne didn't actually have a sixth finger on one hand; and while Anne was certainly a strong-willed and driven woman, she was probably not evil and was definitely not sleeping with her brother. (Nice try, though, Philippa)
Even with all the information I already know about the Tudors and Anne Boleyn in particular, I'm still learning. Anne has passed from a historical figure to a character of legend, and historians are still figuring out what's real and what's made up. And no one seems to be working harder at this than Alison Weir, who is doing her damndest to stay objective and not take anything for granted when it comes to Anne's life. And for this, I salute her.

The Part of the Review In Which the Reviewer Actually Reviews the Damn Book Already:
With The Lady in the Tower, Alison Weir is doing something she maintains no other historian has ever done: focusing, not on Henry and Anne's courtship or their marriage, but just on the few months leading to her arrest, her imprisonment and trial, and the aftermath of her execution. Weir examines, in minute and critical detail, all the evidence against Anne and whether any of it might have been true; as well as who was responsible for her being accused of treason. (I'll give you a hint: it wasn't Henry and his name rhymes with Schomas Schromwell) There's a lot of information missing (for instance, all the details of Anne's trial aren't around because some of the documents got destroyed), so Weir has to rely on biased accounts of various abassadors (like Chapuys, who was a total bitch) and courtiers, who in turn got most of their information from rumors and opinions rather than facts. Since most historians sort of skim over Anne's imprisonment, I enjoyed reading about it in detail and, as I said, learned a lot of things I didn't know before. Such as:
-Anne most definitely didn't have a sixth finger; at most she had an extra fingernail.
-Her last stillborn baby wasn't born deformed (wrong again, Philippa), because the child was examined in detail to make sure it had been a boy, and no one mentions a deformity.
-Anne couldn't have been having an affair with anyone, simply because she was the fucking queen and couldn't sneak around without help, and since no women were arrested with her we can assume that no one was helping her.
-Henry sent for the French swordsman to execute Anne before her trial even began.
-When her head was cut off, there's a good chance that Anne remained conscious for about ten to thirty seconds.
-Before Anne, a queen of England had never been executed.
-Elizabeth was probably not informed that her mother had been killed for a long time, and Weir believes that Henry's shielding her from this knowledge proves that he must have loved his daughter, despite her mother's crimes.

Alison Weir is my favorite historian, and Anne Boleyn is my favorite historical figure. Together, they make one hell of a book.

"In weighing the evidence for and against her, the historian cannot but conclude that Anne Boleyn was the victim of a dreadful miscarriage of justice: and not only Anne and the men accused with her, but also the King himself, the Boleyn faction, and - saddest of all - Elizabeth, who was the bear the scars of it all her life. In the absence of any real proof of Anne's guilt, and with her conviction only on suspicious evidence, there must be a very strong presumption that she went to her death an innocent woman."

[Ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems to me that a century has passed since the last book i reviewed here on GR, after weeks of nightmare where I could no longer pick up anything to read, it seems a paradox, being in lockdown here in Milano, and not being able to pass the time reading, I am happy now to review this excellent book.
I was surprised to appreciate the second volume of the "Queens of Henry VIII" so moving and wonderful was the figure of Catherine of Aragon, I never thought I’d get to the end of this second volume and feel pity and compassion for this particular woman, Anne Boleyn.
I am amazed here, how Alison Weir has always managed to remain firmly attached to the historical truth, all the events, the historical characters , the places but above all the epistolary exchanges here often reported, are not the result of a structure romanticized and invented, but historical and truthful canvas of what happened in 1530.
Anne Boleyn is a woman devoured by the thirst for power, she will accept the courtship of Henry, not for an answer of love and affection to him... but for the idea of being her Queen, sharing the power over everything. Her daily progress was thus paved with conjectures, intrigues and calculations of interest but unfortunately always accompanied by envy, anxiety and real states of neurosis.
The sweetest part is surely the youth of Anne Boleyn, when she was sent to the court of Margaret of Habsurg and then to the Queen Claudia of France, spouse of Frances I. Her first steps as an innocent and simple girl inside a court of ladies at the service of their majesty...... to see her being able to study and learn the humanistic and new disciplines absolutely banished to the English court, to see her standing against the "Amor cortese" costume at court. In short, her childhood and early youth, looked like a little Saint, and would never leave any intuition of what she would become.
It really leaves you sad and amazed to scroll through the pages in all those chapters where the only feeling ever present in the heart of Boleyn is the visceral hatred turned into pure evil towards Catherine of Aragon......the vulgar and hateful terms reported in some letters saved in the Vatican nowadays, they leave no room except for this feeling of vengeance and wickedness that she felt for the Queen, who did not want to bow to her husband’s will in considering the marriage invalid.
A woman, Anne, drawn, excessive in ways, evil and calculating.... this comes out when she will finally succeed in crowning the union so much wanted also by his lover and spouse Henry VIII. But at what price!!! A Queen hated by all, first of all by the people, who considered her a true "harlot"... by most of the court, because she was held responsible for the sin of adultery during the marriage between Henry and Catherine. Hated because it fully supported the persecution of religious orders and the possible confiscation of Church property, urging at all costs Henry to choices dictated solely by resentment and fierce hatred to those who stood before her with different opinions. But the thing that scares me is that she always wanted to persecute Mary, the first daughter of Henry, to make Catherine suffers and devastates. What kind of heart can such a woman have? Why did I write at the beginning of the review that this book is ultimately moving and heartbreaking? Because it would seem that at the time of her death, Anne Boleyn, asked for mercy and forgiveness for the evil committed, she also did so for Maria.... but she could not take the next small step in understanding that the greater pain and laceration was commited by her towards Catherine, never understood, that becoming a second spouse... would have led to an institute of marriage so labile and meaningless that it would have been wiped out her and her power at the first of Henry's boredom, and it happened just so...
In fact, what is testified by history, the dismantling the Sacrament of Marriage by Henry, has opened up to consider the sacramental union always serving, enslaved and crushed by the mood and interests of the moment; labile and modifiable for every new infatuation...... and the six women had in Marriage testify only this.




Mi sembra essere passato un secolo dall' ultimo libro recensito qui su GR, dopo settimane da incubo dove non sono piu' riuscita a prendere in mano nulla da leggere, si , sembra un paradosso, essere in lockdown e non riuscire a far passare il tempo con la lettura, mi butto completamente a recensire questo ottimo libro.
Mi sono ritrovata sorpresa nell' apprezzare il secondo volume delle "Regine di Enrico VIII" così commovente e meravigliosa era stata la figura di Caterina d' Aragona, mai avrei pensato di arrivare alla fine di questo secondo volume e provare pietà e compassione per questa donna così particolare, Anna Bolena.
Sono stupita anche qui, come Alison Weir sia sempre riuscita a rimanere fermamente attaccata alla verità storica, tutti gli avvenimenti, i personaggi storici , i luoghi ma soprattutto gli scambi epistolari qui spesso riportati, non sono frutto di una struttura romanzata e inventata, ma canovaccio storico e veritiero di ciò che avvenne nel 1530.
Anna Bolena è una donna divorata dalla sete di potere, accetterà il corteggiamento di Enrico, non per una risposta di affetto da parte sua... ma per l' idea di essere la sua Regina, condividendo il potere su tutto. Il suo procedere del quotidiano era quindi lastricato di congetture, intrighi e calcoli d' interesse ma purtroppo sempre accompagnati da invidia, ansia e stati veri e propri di nevrosi.
La parte piu' tenera è sicuramente la giovinezza di Anna Bolena, quando venne mandata in Olanda e in -francia alla corte di Margherita d' Asburgo e poi dalla Regina Claudia di Francia, consorte di -francesco I. I suoi primi passi da ragazzina innocente e semplice con una corte di dame al servizio delle loro maestà...... vederla poter studiare e apprendere l' Umanistica e nuove discipline assolutamente bandite alla corte Inglese, vederla ferma contro il costume dell' "Amor cortese" a corte.Insomma , la sua infanzia e prima giovinezza, sembrava quello di una piccola Santa, e mai avrebbe lasciato ogni intuizione di ciò che sarebbe poi diventata..
Lascia veramente affranti e basiti scorrere le pagine in tutti quei capitoli dove l' unico sentimento sempre presente nel cuore della Bolena è l' odio viscerale trasformatosi in malvagità pura nei confronti di Caterina d' Aragona......i termini volgari e odiosi riportati in alcune lettere custodite in -Vaticano, non lasciano spazio se non a questo sentimento di vendetta e cattiveria che provava per la Regina, che non voleva piegarsi alla volontà del marito nel ritenere non valido il matrimonio.
Una donna sguaiata, eccessiva nei modi, malvagia e calcolatrice..... questo ne viene fuori quando riuscirà alla fine a coronare l'unione tanto voluta anche dal suo amante e consorte Enrico VIII. ma a che prezzo!!! una Regina odiata da tutti, in primis dal popolo, che la riteneva una vera meretrice.... da maggior parte della corte, perchè ritenuta responsabile del peccato di adulterio durante il matrimonio tra Enrico e Caterina. Odiata perchè sostenne sino in fondo la persecuzione nei confronti degli ordini religiosi e la possibile confisca dei beni della Chiesa, spingendo a tutti i costi Enrico a scelte dettate unicamente dal risentimento e dall' odio feroce a chi si ponesse di fronte a lei con opinioni differenti. Ma la cosa che lascia sgomenti è l'aver voluto sempre perseguitare Maria per far soffrire e devastare Caterina. Che cuore può mai avere una donna del genere? Perchè all' inizio della recensione ho scritto che questo libro è alla fin fine commovente e straziante? Perchè parrebbe che nell' ora della sua morte, Anna Bolena, chiese pietà e perdono per il male commesso, lo fece anche nei confronti di Maria... ma non riuscì a fare il mini passettino successivo nel capire che il dolore e lacerazione piu' grande lo commise nei confronti di Caterina, non capì mai, che diventare una seconda consorte.... avrebbe portato ad un istituto del matrimonio così labile e privo di significato che sarebbe stato spazzato via lei e il suo potere alla prima noia di Enrico, ed avvenne proprio cosi
Infatti ciò che ci testimonia la storia, l'aver smontato il sacramento del Matrimonio da parte di Enrico, ha aperto nel considerare l' unione sacramentale sempre serva, schiava e schiacciata dall' umore e interessi del momento; labile e modificabile per ogni nuovo infatuamento...... e le sei donne avute in Matrimonio testimoniano solo questo.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alison Weir openly admits in this book that her interest in history began with the dramatic story of Anne Boleyn’s fall. This was the first account that was not a biography of Anne Boleyn, but concentrated just on her arrest and execution – a period of just four months, which would see not only Anne Boleyn beheaded, but also her brother and four other men, accused with her.

This fascinating, and detailed, account, begins with a May Day joust in 1536 at Greenwich. Although Anne had obviously had concerns, and had heard rumours – that Henry was possibly thinking of replacing her with Jane Seymour, for example, it is doubtful that she realised how serious the plots against her were. She could not have imagined, when Henry left the joust, that she would never see him again…

Three months earlier, on the 29th January, Anne had a miscarriage. Her seeming inability to give Henry the son he craved, the King’s infatuation with Jane Seymour, the enemies she made within the Court, especially with Cromwell and the Duke of Norfolk, her unpopularity with the people and numerous other events all helped lead to her downfall. Alison Weir goes through every possible reason that led to the unprecedented events that followed – the arrest, trial and beheading of a Queen.

Whatever your own views on what happened and whether the Queen was the victim of a plot, or that there were possible charges to answer, Weir takes you through all the evidence used against the Queen. It was certain that Anne Boleyn herself realised that she had been indiscreet and that her behaviour had made her vulnerable to accusations of impropriety. It is also clear that the King was determined to get a guilty verdict against her, regardless of the evidence.

Even though you, as the reader, are perfectly aware of the ending that faced Anne Boleyn, Lord Rochford, Norris, Brereton, Weston and Mark Smeaton; still the trials and executions read almost like a thriller. George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, is certainly to be admired for his witty and intelligent responses in court and Anne Boleyn herself was dignified and immeasurably brave. The latter part of this book looks at how the executions were viewed in England and in Europe; and also how Henry’s behaviour, and his unseemly swift marriage to Jane Seymour, was seen.

Ironically, Anne Boleyn’s great legacy was not in the male heir that she failed to give to Henry, but in the daughter she bore him. This book looks at the consequences to Elizabeth and of how she, herself, viewed the mother who still fascinates and captivates us today.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this several months ago, but found the audio at my library and just had to read it again.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy Alison Weir's books, although I do tend to read them with a certain amount of reserve as she does have a tendency toward bias. She writes with a very clear, intelligent style, and her books are always a pleasure to read - but as I said, I always read them with a pinch of salt in store, and this one is no exception.

Anne Boleyn is one of the most fascinating and probably most mythologised figures of the Tudor period. Indeed, the whole history of Henry VIII often gets reduced to mythology, little more than the 'divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived' rhyme that every schoolchild grows up knowing. This book covers the brief period of Anne's fall in incredible detail, analysing the evidence of her guilt and finding on the whole that Anne was the victim of dynastic manoeuvring and was quite probably blameless, of these crimes, at least.

My main criticism of this book is the whitewashing of Henry VIII, the absolving of almost any blame. Weir heaps most of the blame for Anne's downfall and execution on Cromwell, arguing that Henry was mostly reacting to the trumped-up evidence he was shown, believing what he wanted to believe. I personally find it hard to believe that a man such as Henry VIII, a man so wilful and dominant that he deliberately and with full knowledge of his actions isolated England from Europe, broke with Rome, turned his country upside down, dissolved the monasteries, executed a large swathe of English nobility, threatened to execute his own daughter on more than one occasion and certainly had no qualms about seeing her declared bastard - I find it hard to believe that he had no hand in Anne's downfall, and that Cromwell was acting entirely on his own initiative. And yet Henry in this book comes across as a man simply behaving within the law, even as Weir argues, acting with benevolence(!) in allowing Anne her own ladies at the end and permitting her to die by the sword instead of the axe. Spare us all from such benevolence!

[Siv30 · Rating 4 out of 5]

אליסון וויר כתבה מספר ספרים שעוסקים מבחינה מחקרית היסטורית בשושלת טיודור. הספר הזה עוסק בחודשי חייה האחרונים של אן בולין, אישתו השניה והשנויה במחלוקת של הנרי ה 8.

על יחסיהם של הנרי ה 8 ואן בולין העיבה פרשיית גירושיו מקתרין מארגון, אישתו הקאתולית הראשונה ואמה של מרי. קתרין סירבה להתגרש מהנרי, בטענה שהיא אישתו האמיתית ובמשך 7 שנים הנרי חיזר אחרי אן בולין שהחזיקה אותו במרווח יד ולא איפשרה לו לממש את אהבתו אליה, כשהוא מנסה לשדל את האפיפיור לאשר את ביטול הנישואים.

כשהוא לא מצליח במשימתו, הוא נפרד מהכנסיה הקאתולית ומקים את הכנסיה הפרוטסטנטית, מבטל את נישואיו לקתרין ומממש את יחסיו עם אן בולין לאחר 7 שנים של המתנה ארוכה. כשהיא הרה, הוא נישא בסתר לאן בולין ולאחר ביטול הנישואים שלו לקתרין, ממליך את אן בולין בציבור למלכת אנגליה.

אן יולדת את אליזבת, בעקבות כך מעביר הנרי בפרלמנט את חוק הירושה והופך את מרי לממזרה. אבל, בפרק זמן של 3 שנים מאז נישואיהם, מאבדת אן בולין את חינה בעיני הנרי. היא הרה 4 פעמים ומפילה, לא מצליחה להביא בן, כשהפעם האחרונה מסתיימת בהפלה בינואר בשנה שבה הספר עוסק.

וויר מתארת כיצד עם כשלונותיה להביא בן זכר, אן הופכת מרירה וקנאית בנשים אחריהן הנרי מחזר עד שהנרי מתאהב בג'ין סימור. למרות זאת, אן יודעת כיצד להפעיל את בעלה שנוח להתרצות והיא עושה זאת בכדי לקדם אגנדות פוליטיות ודתיות בהן היא מאמינה.

אליסון וויר טוענת שאין אינדיקציות שהנרי רצה באותו המועד להתגרש או להתפטר מאן בולין, לכן היא מנסה לבחון את הנסיבות שהובילו לקנוניה נגדה.

אחת מהסיבות שהיא מעלה היא מערכת יחסיה של אן בולין עם קרומוול והאיום שחש על מעמדו שהתערער בעקבות נסיונותיו להביא להסכם עם הקיסר הגרמני שדרש את השבתה של מרי לשולשת המלוכה. קרומוול שמרגיש את חשרת העננים מעל ראשו טווה את העלילה כנגד אן ואוסף את הראיות לכאורה נגדה ואז מציגן למלך שמשתכנע שנדרש משפט.

יחד עם זאת, אותן ראיות עלומות לא נמצאות בידנו שכן שהן לא פורסמו והן נעלמו כך שאין לקורא המודרני מידע איזה ראיות עמדו בפני המלך אם בכלל.

האשמה שאן בולין בגדה במלך עם 5 גברים בינהם גילוי עריות עם אחיה, לא נראה סביר לנוכח העובדה שבזמנו משרתת או מלווה היתה ישנה בחדר השינה של המלכה. לא נאספו שום ראיות ובמשפט לא הופיעו שום עדים ולמעט אחד כל הגברים כפרו בהאשמתם והיו מהמקורבים והנאמנים למלך. בקומניון האחרון לפני מותה, כפרה אן באשמה של בגידה במלך עובדה שוויר מעניקה לה חשיבות מרכזית לנוכח העובדה שאן בולין היתה מאמינה אדוקה ולא היתה מסכנת את נפשה בגיהנום לפני האינסוף הצפוי לנשמתה.

בנוסף, העובדה שהנרי ציווה על פירוק משק ביתה של המלכה עוד לפני שהואשמה והזמנת עורף הראשים כ 9 ימים לפני שהתקבל גזר הדין, כן החתונה המהירה עם ג'יין סימור מצביעים על כך שגם אם הנרי לא זמם עם קרומוול להתפטר מאן בולין (בהתאם לסברה הפופולארית ) הוא עדין היה נחוש לקבל גזר דין מוות בכל מחיר.

וויר משרטטת את הימים האחרונים של הנדונים למוות ושל המלכה. מהתיאורים והעדויות שוויר מביאה, ברור שאן בולין היתה טיפוס נתעב, שחצני שניצלה את המרות שלה באופן שעורר עליה חמתם של רבים. ברור גם שלא בחלה בשום אמצעי להגיע למעמד מלכה ולהגן על זכויות הבת שלה אליזבת, יחד עם זאת ברור שהיא הופללה בצורה מחפירה ונעשה ל עוול כבד בהוצאתה להורג. יחד איתה איבדו חייהם עוד 4 גברים, אחד קיבל כפרה מהמלך.

החלק האחרון בספר מתאר את השפעות המוות על אליזבת ועל עיצוב אופייה ושלטונה. כן עוסק החלק האחרון של הספר בדמותה של אן בתרבות העממית לאחר מותה ובאופן שבו הציבור תפס את מותה ואת נישואיו של הנרי לג'יין סימור.

מהדברים של וויר עולה שהפעולה של הנרי למעשה הפכה את אן לדמות פופולארית בציבור שגם בזמנו סבר שהיא הופללה (למרות התיעוב שחשו כלפיה ), מסתורית בעלת יכולות מאגיות, ונערצת, דבר שלא היה קורה לו היתה ממשיכה לחיות שכן היתה נזכרת כדמות מרירה עוקצנית ושתלטנית שחמתה בוערת בה והיא קצרה עם הסובבים אותה שלא לדבר על נקמנית. הירושה החשובה שלה אינה הבן שלא ילדה, אלא דווקא אליזבת הבת שילדה והפכה למלכה החשובה בדברי הימים של אנגליה.

הספר מרתק, וויר מעמתת את המידע ההיסטורי שנצבר בהמלך השנים ומציירת תשריטים שונים. הספר צובע את דמותה של אן באור חיובי יותר, למרות שבעיניי היא דמות בלתי נסבלת, שתלטנית, נרקסיסטית וגאוותנית.

בהתנהגות שלה כלפי קתרין ומרי הובילה לעיצוב דמותה של המלכה מרי כאישה נקמנית שהעלתה מאות על המוקד בשם הדת ולמזלם של האנגלים, אליזבת היתה צעירה מידי מכדי להיות מושפעת מאופייה הקר, התככני והשתלטני.

[Mayar Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

ستظل شخصية آن بولين من أكثر الشخصيات المثيرة للجدل في التاريخ البريطاني
كتاب آخر يتناول قصة حياتها، بداية من زواجها من الملك هنري الثامن وحتى لحظمة اعدامها، لم يقدم الكتاب أي جديد عن تلك الشخصية التي تناولها العديد من الكتاب من قبل، ما يميز الكتاب أن الاسلوب ممتع والسرد شيق بخلاف الأعمال "الجافة" التي كتبت عنها

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading Weir for years. I’ve read almost all of her books. The two I haven’t read yet, I have, and they are in my TBR pile. I picked up The Lady in the Tower at my local BJs (which sometimes has the most wonderful books).
There is something about the Tudors, and it shouldn’t surprise that most of Weir’s non-fiction, and all of her fiction connects to this royal family. I first grew interested in the Tudors because I loved Renaissance English Literature. The Tudors are the ultimate soap opera, until Showtime made them a soap opera. No matter how good looking Rhys-Myers is, I can’t watch it. I keep clenching my teeth. The Tudors make soap opera because there are the stock characters, the stock myths. It isn’t surprising that both historians and readers keep returning to them.
This is Weir’s best book. Period.
It is one of the best books about Anne Boleyn. (Ives book is the best, but it is very dry).
Weir doesn’t focus on Anne’s whole life; instead she focuses on the events leading up and including Anne’s trial and execution. Because of this, if you are totally unfamiliar with Henry VIII and his wives, I would suggest reading any of the biographies about the monarch and his serial harem (Fraser, Starkey, and Weir have all written books).
Because the focus of the book is so narrow, the book is absolutely riveting. I have read plenty about Anne and about the Tudors. Weir presents the most riveting account of Anne’s death that I have seen anyway, all the more riveting because Weir relies on firsthand accounts. Even if you are a Katherine of Aragorn supporter, you have to admire Anne’s courage when facing beheading.
Another wonderful aspect of this book is that Weir is so even handed. In most biographies of Anne, she is either portrayed as a monster (Erickson) or as a saint (Denny). Weir portrays her as a human. The focus is more on politics, and while Henry VIII doesn’t look like a dove, the true villain, according to Weir’s thesis, is Cromwell, the motive more of politic power than anything else. And Weir makes a very convincing argument.
Weir not only closely examines Anne’s trial, but she deals with theories presented by other historians, showing the strengths and weakness of the theories. (She is very indebted to Ives. IF you haven’t read his book, read it). The only time she seems to get angry at a fellow historian is when discussing Strickland at one point, and that has to do with Strickland misrepresenting what Weir herself wrote. Weir is also very clear when stating fact, and when stating opinion.
Weir includes an appendix on the ghost legends surrounding Anne. More importantly, Weir includes an appendix where she discusses the merits and flaws of the historical sources

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this non-fiction book (her 5th on the Tudors), Weir zeros in on the last 3 months of the life of Anne Boleyn, arguably the most fascinating of Henry VIII's six wives. Anne, as most English history buffs know, was beheaded after failing to produce the one and only thing desired of a royal spouse - a living son - but there was much, much more to her story then her inability to bare an heir. Weir expands on the last days of Anne, and covers information not available in her former book, The Six Wives of Henry VIII . We see the machinations of Anne's detractors and enemies to bring about the desired end result. How Henry, who once desired her enough to bring down the foundations of the Catholic Church in England to have her, now cast her aside on the belief of trumped up charges of adultery, incest and treason.

Weir is a prodigious researcher, and although she (like many other researchers) has her headstrong pet theories and noted biases, I can always count on her to serve up a well written, well documented and interesting dish on the lives, loves, triumphs and foibles of the long deceased greats from English history - especially those rascally, larger then life Tudors.

Under Weir's deft hand, you gain a deeper understanding for the motivations (good and bad) of the noted personalities of the day: Henry, Cromwell, Mary, The Duke of Norfolk, and Lord Rochford. Weir lays out at the end some of the ramifications of Anne's demise with respect to her surviving child, Elizabeth, who went on to become one of England's most beloved, influential and brilliant monarchs.

Not her best work (which is why I only gave it 3 stars), the book does have periods of dry, dull exposition in the middle section. However, the beginning and the end were excellent, riveting and well worth the time.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Anna Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first started The Lady in the Tower, I was sure it was going to get a five-star rating from me. Over sixteen hours later, that rating had withered to three stars, although I’m not certain if that’s completely fair either. Alison Weir is a great historian, and TLITT is a richly detailed, meticulous piece of detective work—painfully meticulous, if we’re being frank. Weir gets so bogged down in the fine print that half of the book plods away at a snail’s pace. Much of what she recounts is intriguing: the political machinations that contributed to Anne’s downfall, the backstories of the men who were condemned alongside her, an analysis of how Anne’s public image has changed throughout the centuries. But too much time is allotted to mincing over dates and numbers and turns of phrases, stunting the flow of the book and undoubtedly decreasing its accessibility. This is further heightened by the many long, direct quotes and speeches inserted into the second half of the book.

I would describe Weir’s treatment of Anne as very fair, which means her most ardent fans will probably detest it. Weir staunchly defends Anne’s innocence, casting the plot to topple her from power as the result of feuding factions at court. She also conveys Anne’s true devotion to the reform of the Church. But she doesn’t shy away from discussing Anne’s caustic temper, her careless behavior, or her deeply abusive treatment of her stepdaughter, Mary. It was ultimately Anne’s hostility towards Mary that pushed her enemies, led by Thomas Cromwell, to remove her from power. Cromwell is portrayed as the chief antagonist in Anne’s downfall rather than Henry, whom Weir appears to think has been wrongly maligned. He is depicted as almost passive in his disposal of his second wife, and Weir takes especial issue with him being dubbed a “wife killer” by her contemporaries. Henry is not a murderer, she argues, because he acted within the confines of the law. To that argument, I’ll just say this: Ivan the Terrible, the tsar who beat his own son to death in a black rage, also had six wives, some of whom he put aside, and even he never felt the need to have any of them executed. Just let that sit there for a moment.

Weir offers a few unique takes about the many players present at the Tudor court, some of which she may have come to see differently in the years since publication. Here Weir denies that Henry VIII fathered any children with Mary Boleyn, but she has since said that she now believes Henry likely fathered Mary’s daughter, Catherine. Weir describes the Seymours as schemers and argues in TLITT that Jane Seymour must have been braver and more ruthless than how she’s remembered. In more recent interviews I’ve seen of hers, however, Weir has expressed some consternation about Jane being demonized by fans of Anne Boleyn. Most notable is Weir’s take on Henry Percy, whom Weir argues had fallen out of love with Anne and had come to despise by the time of her trial.

One person Weir has not appeared to have changed her mind about is Anne’s brother, George, who is portrayed as an abusive deviant both here and in Weir’s other books. This only makes her depiction of his wife, Jane Boleyn, all the more puzzling. I don’t know what Weir thinks of JB today, but she staunchly believes in her complicity in George’s and Anne’s deaths in TLIIT, even making a few snide remarks at Julia Fox, one of the first historians to publicly reevaluate Jane’s reputation. Having just read Philippa Gregory’s Boleyn Traitor, this felt like hopping in a time machine and going back to an earlier time—which, of course, it was. The reconsideration of JB’s role in the Boleyn’s downfall has only grown since then, so it is perhaps fitting that Weir is noticeably less meticulous in her treatment of the evidence against her. She never notices, for instance, that none of the evidence supposedly implicating Jane ever mentions her by name—a very odd omission for someone sending her own husband to the executioner’s block. If JB did provide evidence against them, however, then the most logical conclusion would be that she did it to be rid of her abusive husband, and the queen who presumably chose to turn a blind eye to his behavior. After all, Weir herself notes that Jane’s survival and status was directly tied to George—would she really jeopardize all that for mere jealousy? But alas, we are expected to sympathize with the abusive husband and not his victim, as we have for the better part of five centuries. Alison Weir clearly cares about the lives of women, but her painting both George’s and Henry’s abusive actions as either insignificant or non-existent is a mark against this book.

One note on the audiobook narration: the narrator has a very soothing voice, but her accents are hilariously bad. Eustace Chapuys vacillates between Spanish, French, and Spanglish accents at random all throughout the book.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many books have been written on the Tudors, not least on Henry VIII's notorious second queen, Anne Boleyn. Weir revisits her subject with a closer focus, writing primarily on the last four months of Anne's life in 1536. I'm a huge fan of Anne--I've even toyed with getting a tattoo of her signature. But despite it's sometimes claustrophobic focus, this book does not expand my understanding of her, or tell me much that I didn't already know. That Anne had few friends and many enemies, that she had miscarried several times, that she had openly declared herself the foe of Cromwell, that the diplomatic envoys she had encouraged had just failed, and that Henry had fallen in love with another woman--other books have covered all of this already. Weir doesn't even manage to provide more information on the trial. She repeats herself often (in one paragraph, she says, "The author of the 'Spanish Chronicle,' never reliable and incline to embroider or make up details, claims that Rochford had been espied leaving her bedchamber in his night robe on several occasions." Only a few sentences later, on the very same page, she writes, "The 'Spanish Chronicle' states that George Boleyn [called Rochford for his title:] 'had been seen on several occasions going in and out of the Queen's room dressed only in his night clothes,' but it is not a reliable source." Very frustrating!) She spends chapter after chapter on conjecture and "possibly this means..." but so much of the record of this period was expunged or accidentally destroyed that little can truly be claimed. And most frustratingly, she quotes Anne very rarely. Oh, she quotes what other people said of her, the rumors, the poems, the songs. She devotes a full chapter to various claims of what Anne wore to the scaffold. She gives the versions of Anne's last words (most of which vaguely agree with each other in content, none of which match exactly). But she doesn't cite a single letter that we know Anne wrote. She sprinkles rumors of what men said Anne said throughout the book, but as to Anne herself? Nothing in her own words.

In the end, I was left frustrated and bored. I suppose this is a good book for a completist, or somehow who is interested in the Tudors but doesn't know much. But anyone who has already read even ONE of the biographies of Anne Boleyn will be left wanting. The one aspect of this book that I did enjoy was Weir's tangents on the law. There are all sorts of oddments and loopholes riddling English law. For instance, when Anne died her marriage to Henry had been annulled, but her status as Queen was assured in a Law of Succession...so technically she was Queen without ever having married the ruling king!

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

In medias res start, which is interesting.

Later: OK, this one has more "she must have known" "it must have occurred to them" etc. than her bio of Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom we know much less about than we do Anne Boleyn.

Very 'eh.'

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, mad respect for Alison Weir generally making Tudor history approachable -- her Wars of the Roses is my go-to volume on that subject, and Princes in the Tower was pretty solidly readable (even if it did not stop me carrying a torch for Richard III).

But this ... suffers the same problems as her book on Mary Stuart and the Murder of Lord Darnley. Namely : Weir is a pedant. She will deal exhaustively with every scrap of minutiae that might contribute to her story, and sometimes seems incapable of just letting the small stuff go to focus on the big stuff.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when you thought all the ins and outs of the fall of Anne Boleyn have been explored, something new appears.

Alison Weir shows she is the master of this era. She integrates her own scholarship and thoughts with what she has sifted through in the work of other Tudor historians. Weir must have read every Tudor related scrap of writing housed in the British Museum and every other collection. Her wide and deep knowledge of this period gives her the background to interpret all of it for the reader.

Writers like Weir take on a difficult task. They document their research for the historical record and then, work to make that record appealing to the general reader. Not all writers can succeed in both, but Weir excels. Her writing is a seamless blend of documenting and telling the story.

Weir poses that Henry VIII did not need to eliminate Anne Boleyn, but Thomas Cromwell had many reasons for doing so and pretty much said it out loud. She writes of the many others who stood to benefit from the demise of Anne and the faction of court politics she represented. Weir revisits the trumped up changes against Anne and her 5 supposed lovers.

Weir reminds the reader of the speed of events. Anne was Queen for less than 3 years. The time from her last miscarriage, of what would have been a son/heir (on the day Katherine of Aragon passed away), to her beheading (and Henry's marriage to Jane Seymour) was just about a month. That the trial would result in a conviction was not in doubt; an executioner was summoned from France before the trial's start. Had the miscarried child lived, history would have been much different.

Weir also does an excellent job in her discussion of the aftermath. Not all is rosy for the prosecution, karma catches up with Cromwell and others. Weir covers the reaction of the populace and leaders abroad, the distribution of Anne's assets, the known and potential effects on Elizabeth and how some of her actions, such as that the reluctance to convict Mary Queen of Scots might have resulted from this. There is a good analyis of the changing interpretations of this piece of history.

This is an excellent readable work of scholarship and a must read for anyone interested in the Tudors.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

blurbs - Nearly five hundred years after her violent death, Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII, remains one of the world's most fascinating, controversial, and tragic heroines. Now acclaimed historian and bestselling author Alison Weir has drawn on myriad sources from the Tudor era to give us the first book that examines, in unprecedented depth, the gripping, dark, and chilling story of Anne Boleyn's final days.

The tempestuous love affair between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn scandalized Christendom and altered forever the religious landscape of England. Anne's ascent from private gentlewoman to queen was astonishing, but equally compelling was her shockingly swift downfall. Charged with high treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London in May 1536, Anne met her terrible end all the while protesting her innocence. There remains, however, much mystery surrounding the queen's arrest and the events leading up to it: Were charges against her fabricated because she stood in the way of Henry VIII making a third marriage and siring an heir, or was she the victim of a more complex plot fueled by court politics and deadly rivalry?

The Lady in the Tower examines in engrossing detail the motives and intrigues of those who helped to seal the queen's fate. Weir unravels the tragic tale of Anne's fall, from her miscarriage of the son who would have saved her to the horrors of her incarceration and that final, dramatic scene on the scaffold. What emerges is an extraordinary portrayal of a woman of great courage whose enemies were bent on utterly destroying her, and who was tested to the extreme by the terrible plight in which she found herself.

Richly researched and utterly captivating, The Lady in the Tower presents the full array of evidence of Anne Boleyn's guilt--or innocence. Only in Alison Weir's capable hands can readers learn the truth about the fate of one of the most influential and important women in English history.

[Orsolya · Rating 5 out of 5]

If 60 Minutes, the late 20/20, and "How to Catch a Predator" existed in Tudor England, then this novel would be the transcript.

We all know the story of the famous concubine turned queen to Henry VIII: Anne Boleyn. We also know how she was accused of adultery and witchcraft (although her trials were only regarding the accusation of adultery and witchcraft was never even mentioned). If you seek to dig deeper into the story, then The Lady in the Tower will become your new best friend.

This piece is seriously absolutely fascinating. Weir presents solid research, extensive and never-before-mentioned discoveries, and smooth paths to guilt or innocense which would make any detective bow their head in shame. Seriously a stunning piece. Plus, she never comes off as biased or partial and simply demonstrates an arguementative and all-emcompassing work on both sides of the situation. Weir explains why event A couldn't have happened because event B didn't or Event C is incorrect because Event D was fabricated ahead of time. I won't get into detail because I seriously don't want to ruin the read.

This is a stunning book and one of my favorites of all time due to its intelligence and informative nature with the added spices of Tudor intrique. You will NEVER look at Anne Boleyn's beheading the same again.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘If any person will meddle with my cause, I require them to judge the best.’

The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn in May 1536 was unprecedented in English history. Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London on 2 May 1536, tried and found guilty of high treason on 15 May 1536 and executed on 19 May 1536. Her supposed crimes included adultery with five men, including her brother George Boleyn, and plotting the death of King Henry VIII. These are the facts, but there is considerable mystery surrounding the circumstances leading up to her arrest. Was it Henry VIII who instructed Thomas Cromwell to remove Anne so that he could marry Jane Seymour? Or did Cromwell, for factional reasons of his own, construct a case against Anne and her faction? Was Anne guilty as charged?

In this book, Ms Weir looks at the circumstances of Anne’s fall, arrest and execution. I found this an interesting look at an extraordinary event. The factional politics of Henry VIII’s court are fascinating, as is the role of Thomas Cromwell. Having just read and enjoyed the portrayal of Thomas Cromwell in ‘Wolf Hall’ by Hilary Mantel, I found this book intriguing.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look there is a book about Anne Boleyn


Me



I am obsessed with anything to do with early English history to the end of Elizabethan period (after that I am like meh). This also includes Henry VIII and his 8 wives (oops) 6 wives so any book about them I'm like give it here!

I really enjoyed this book by Alison Weir who writes quite well, able to articulate very well, very detailed and debunks myths around Anne Boleyn through the use of stable evidence and sources. She emphasises on when there is no evidence and doesn't just base her book on speculation and gossips.

More importantly, Anne Boleyn got the last laugh as it is HER daughter that is considered one of the greatest monarch Elizabeth I






So, if you are a Tudor buff you would definitely enjoy this book!

4 stars

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since becoming interested in English history, I find myself drawn time and time again to the Tudors, and particularly to Henry VIII and his unlucky wives. Of those wives, I find Anne Boleyn particularly fascinating. This book concentrates on the short period in which she was arrested, tried and executed to make way for Jane Seymour (who it seems I have taken a violent dislike to during my historical reading adventure, but that's a rant for another time).

If Anne Boleyn is new to you, you're probably best off starting elsewhere, as this is almost the reading equivalent of her Greatest Hits album. You don't really get a sense of who Anne was, but mostly see her through the eyes of others - others who didn't particularly like her, or who had their own reasons for wanting her gone. Cromwell was chief amongst those orchestrating her downfall, but again we skipped lightly over the surface of their relationship, paying lip-service to what should have been a particularly juicy part of her tale.

In short, if you're already familiar with Anne Boleyn's story, this was a decent trip through a tiny portion of it, but newbies will be disappointed.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, must have read it 50 times!

[Jill Miclean · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Allison Weir book I've read, it was very good.

[Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don't know, man. i just love anne.

14/05/2024 REREAD: i still love anne. they killed her bc they know she would have killed henry viii if given the chance

[Lauren McGraw · Rating 5 out of 5]

*nodding as I take a drag of my cigarette* I needed this. After the last few books I’ve read I needed facts with absolutely zero Jane Rochford apologia. Alison and I stay hating.

I didn’t even mind the mild Henrybias in arguing that it was a coup that Cromwell masterfully orchestrated (obviously there are many reasons why what happened did but I guess it’s not ALL Henry’s fault). I love that we finished with some ghost tales!

I just really love the way Alison writes and if you want to like dip a toe in reading royal biographies I would start with her Six Queens fiction and then read a non fiction about that same Queen. Anyways I’m starting her Queen Quartet next so I’m deep in it.

[Ginny Messina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the last four months of Anne Boleyn’s life. Historian Alison Weir concludes that Anne Boleyn was not guilty of the charges of adultery (which is a view shared by most historians apparently) and that her downfall was masterminded by Cromwell (although Henry VIII seemed easily persuadable re: Anne’s guilt since he was already set to marry Jane Seymour). I did get bogged down in trying to keep all the names and relationships straight especially since everybody had both a name and a title and they were all cousins to everybody else (“Elizabeth, Countess of Worcester, the daughter of Sir Anthony Browne, was married to Henry, the second earl, the son of Charles Somerset, Earl of Worcester, an illegitimate descendant of the Beauforts and, through them, cousin to the King”) and often just gave up. But I still enjoyed this book and learned a ton. I'm sorry for Anne who, in the words of Weir, was clearly "framed."

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit bogged down with too many details I didn’t care about, BUT I am also conflicted in general about Anne Boleyn. Also, some of the points disproven in this are definitely still being told on tours at the Tower of London which seems like a bit of disgrace for a historical site? They should be above such stories.

[Deirdre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful yet tragic account of the marriage of Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII to her tragic death.