Weir's biography of Anne Boleyn begins with the appearance of prejudice. In the second paragraph we are introduced to Anne, "one of the most notorious women in Christendom." We are told that she was `not the handsomest woman in the world': she had swarthy skin . . . and she had a double nail on one of her fingers." (It is highly unlikely that Anne had such an obvious physical defect; Henry VIII was a superstitious man living in a superstitious age. People believed that the outer appearance reflected the person within - physical defects were indicative of sinfulness or evil.) It is doubtful that Henry would have risked his kingdom and his immortal soul for a woman who bore such a blemish. A few pages later Anne is described as "haughty, overbearing, shrewish, and volatile."

Of necessity, Weir relies on the writings of Ambassador Chapuys, correctly noting his bias against Anne Boleyn. He never met her and did not have a good command of English; rather he employed a number of paid informers who may have been more interested in providing information that would please him rather than facts as we would understand them. Weir also uses the "Spanish Chronicle" which were written by an unknown Spaniard living in London at the time. Again this document is controversial and often inaccurate as Weir herself notes.

Weir states that Anne had no friends and was hated by many, at court, in the English countryside and abroad. Yet, when she was to be executed, Cromwell ordered that foreigners be conveyed out of the Tower. "There seems to have been official concern that foreign ambassadors would send home sympathetic reports of Anne's end that could reflect badly on the King." In contrast to the description in the first chapter, witnesses at her execution said she "had never looked so beautiful; her face and complexion were never so beautiful."

The Lady in the Tower suffers from Weir's habit of recounting events, citing sources, explaining why the sources cannot be trusted and then saying but maybe these events did happen. A discussion of how long a severed head might remain conscious was perhaps unnecessary. The illustrations include four non-contemporary paintings, all dating from the 19th century, which add nothing to the story. The captions include five references to the Concubine or whore. In the text Weir often refers to Anne in the same way.

Just when one thought that Eric Ives had the last word on the subject, Alison Weir comes along with this scholarly and rivet-
ing analysis of Anne Boleyn's devastating fall. Ms. Weir makes the documentary evidence the focal point of her narrative, rather than relegating it to footnotes, leaving the reader in no doubt as to what was reported at the time. She also explores
subjects avoided by others such as the horror of death by decapitation. No one interested in Tudor England can afford to pass this one up.

Alison Weir makes history fun. I love the history of England and this is another fasinating blend of fiction and reality.

Alison Weir's account of the fall of Anne Boleyn and its aftermath is, as many reviewers here say, well researched however, I urge the reader not to take all of her *conclusions* at face value. The book reads almost like a first draft; the contradictions and leaps of logic and inconsistencies are at odds with her own diligent research.

Weir tends to make rather large leaps based on her opinion of what people would or would not do under the circumstances. For instance, she insists Henry VIII "would not" have done or said this or that unless he really believed Anne Boleyn was guilty, without taking into account that people (especially people of questionable mental stability) don't always do what one would expect, and without taking into account the pattern of Henry's behavior with his wives throughout his life. As another example, she concludes that Anne's former love, Henry Percy, certainly did not collapse at Anne's trial due to distress over having to help convict her. Her reasons? He said bad things about Anne Boleyn during her reign, and he was suffering from an severe illness when he fainted at her trial. But how can we know whether or he still loved her -- has no one ever said bad things about an ex they still had feelings for? Nor can we know for sure what caused him to collapse. It might have been distress over Anne, it might have been his illness, it might have been a combination of both, or even something else altogether.

Her selective reliance upon certain sources is puzzling; sometimes she tells us to take bias or unreliability into account, but sometimes she herself does not do so. For instance, in my opinion she takes far too seriously, a poem about the alleged lovers of Anne Boleyn; just because a poet implies George Boleyn was a rapist does not mean he probably was one. She relays that ambassador Chapuys said chancellor Cromwell told him he'd misled Chapuys into thinking that he had thought up a compromise between the Holy Roman Emperor and Henry VIII, that in fact it was Henry VIII's idea, and he did nothing without Henry VIII's say so. However, in the very next chapter, she concludes that because Cromwell told Chapuys that Cromwell thought up how to bring Anne Boleyn down, then it's *certain* Cromwell, and not Henry VIII, instigated the plot against Anne Boleyn and Henry was tricked. She doesn't appear to consider that this is all second hand information from Chapuys; nor does she consider that, if Chapuys is telling the truth, Cromwell must have lied to him once (either in saying the compromise was his idea or in saying it was Henry's idea), thus Cromwell could have lied to him again when he said the plot was his own idea.

Finally, Weir tends to contradict herself, on one hand appearing to agree that the case against Anne Boleyn was a strong one, on the other hand, concluding Anne Boleyn must have been innocent. If the case against her was strong, how can we conclude she was innocent?

In conclusion, I recommend this book but when reading it, do think twice about any conclusion she reaches, and carefully examining each of her sources for its reliability and bias.

Alison Weir Has done her homework in this multi-layered, thoroughly-researched account of the last days of Henry VIII's much-maligned wife #2.

Revisionism aside, Anne comes off as a (surprise!) political pawn in the Reformationist hands of Lord Privy Seal Thomas Cromwell, not merely as a failure in heir-producing. Her swift and stunning fall through the anti-Catholic machinations of Cromwell and Co. makes much more sense in Weir's telling that the traditional view of Henry's ditching yet another sonless Queen.

Though it takes a game-card to keep straight all the players in Tudor England's court intrigues and peerage, Weir manages, especially for the American reader, to keep all the Dukes, Earls, and intermarriages easy to follow.

This is no bodice-ripper. Anne Boleyn emerges as a fully-formed though flawed woman of her time, caught in the impossibly difficult shoals of the English dictatorship under Henry Tudor. The proof of the pudding lies is the accomplishments of the remarkable daughter she produced: Elizabeth I. "The Concubine?" Not really.

I tried to like it but it seems Weir had her opinions and simply molded the slight evidence to agree with herself. The first 100 pages never lists the incest or treason crime she was charged with.. why? Hiding the facts? Grade high D book.

Alison Weir paints an excellent picture of the last days of the Doomed Queen Anne Boleyn that dispels many of the suppositions we've been exposed to over the years by such things as 'Anne of the 1000 days' and 'The Tudors'. It appears she may have not been killed by Henry VIII on trumped charges of adultery but was the victim of a plot by Thomas Cromwell with support from the Catholics loyal to deposed Queen Katherine of Aragon and Mary Tudor to overthrow the influence of the powerful Boleyn faction at court.

Cromwell and his faction were able to influence Henry and poison his mind against her and many in her court. She sowed the seeds of her own undoing by being a woman who spoke her mind and who was very flirty, both things seen as unbecoming a woman of her stature. Her words and actions were twisted by Cromwell and his Star Chamber to paint poor Anne as an adulteress and as having incest with her brother.

Weir uses contemporary sources to sew her chronicle together. We are plunged into the Tudor court life of the 16th Century. We see all the intrigues and back stabbings. We are in court with Anne and the other accused and we feel their helpless frustration.

We walk with Anne to the Tower and we feel her come to grips with her doom. We read her words and we feel her innocence. It is with consolation we find that her daughter is destined to become England's greatest Queen, Elizabeth I.

I liked the book. Weir's narrative is very easy to follow. There is a neat appendix at the end that documents the various legends that have arisen over her death. It should definitely be part of any Elizabethan fans library.

Anne Boleyn was many things - queen, commoner, scholar, wife, mother, flirt and dynamic in her own right. Alison Weir brings her excellent sense of history, politics and the times to focus on the downfall of second wife of Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. The books reveals the intrigue preceeding her demise. The plot is carefully crafted by her enemies and revealed by Weir. Anyone with an interest in the Tudor Era and its multifacted characters will find this a "must read."

I have to admit that I haven't read the whole book yet and don't know if I will. My issue is that at the very beginning, in the first chapter I believe, the author says about Anne Boleyn: "During her years of ascendancy, not a single heretic had beeen burned in England, and no fewer than ten evangelical bishops were appointed to vacant seats". I am no historical scholar and know little about the period but even I thought that sounded wrong. I looked up "John Frith" and found that he was an English Protestant condemned for heresy in June 23, 1533 and burned in London in July 4, 1533. Now Anne's coronation was on June 1, 1533 so how was this burning not during her "years of ascendancy"? This was just a name that I happened to look up, there may be others. If someone can straighten this discrepency out for me I would appreciate it. But it makes me distrust the rest of the book. Also the author seems too enamoured of Anne Boleyn to present things objectively.

I found "The Lady in the Tower" very interesting, but troubling. Clearly Alison Weir has done a lot of research with contemporary sources, and the book certainly is full of fascinating information, but can it be trusted? Other Tudor historians disagree with Weir's interpretations and even with her facts. (John Guy, in particular, the author of an excellent biography of Mary Queen of Scots, has weighed in with a number of criticisms [[...].], which might interest other readers of this story of Anne's last days.) It makes it hard to know what to think about the evidence Weir presents. Surely her investigation of original sources is to be commended.

It's too bad that so much of Weir's information is not presented very clearly. I think it may be that the sheer weight of all the data she wants to explain to us overwhelms her. Take for example her description of where Anne is/was buried in the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the Tower: I can't be the only one having trouble visualizing the locations and movements of the remains of various executed nobles and royals as described! I tried making a chart, but even so I couldn't get it--I was totally confounded in the end by the sudden appearance from nowhere of the body of the Countess of Salisbury!

On the whole, it was worth reading "Lady in the Tower" just to consider all the various characters and motivations at play during Anne's last days. In the end very little can be certain except that she died with courage facing powers beyond her strength and that she left a splendid legacy in the form of her daughter.

The Lady in the Tower is a comprehensive look at the 'fall' of Anne Boleyn, centering on the last 4 months of her life after she was arrested and charged with adultery. Alison Weir has done a phenomenal job of retracing this time, with detail appreciated by this reader, and gives a complete accounting of the arrest, charges and players and background involved in bringing Anne's downfall. While there are mysteries that may never be solved, this book easily is the most complete accounting of Anne's final days. Conclusions are drawn, where appropriate, but many of the intricacies are discussed objectively, leaving the reader to form their own opinions.

There are many books and novels about Anne, written in the context of what was known at the time. Weir has delved into a variety of sources that have only become available to researchers over the past 50 or so years and it is fascinating to see Anne's history pulled together by an objective historian. Easily the best book you will find on Anne--but don't look for glossing over or shortcut history. The detail in this book is amazing. A well-written, excellently researched history of one of the most famous--or infamous--women in history.

My reading habits are crazy. I take a subject like quantum physics or art and read a tons of books about it until most of the mainstream books cannot tell me anything new.
My subject is history now.(It came from art and art history). This book by Alison Weir satisfied my criteria for reading (Nothing under 200 pages, well researched, some pictures and readable).
It is truly a great book and describes the events that led to the beheading of Anne Boleyn. It does NOT talk about her childhood years and preceding events which is great. The title says: "The Fall of Anne Boleyn" and thankfully the whole book is about it.
My curiosity is aroused about this era and its rulers. It opened up a whole new subject and there is a LOT to read! This subject will take me a good couple of months to exhaust, and I'm thanking this great book and its author!

As usual, Alison Weir does a great job with her research. The book flows well, is well written and well researched. I like the focus of the book. So many books, both good and bad, have been written on the life of Anne Boleyn, leading up to her arrest, sparing only a few pages for the time between her arrest and her death. My only gripe with this book is the same gripe I have had with several of her non fiction books. Instead of presenting the research in an unbiased manner, Ms Weir has a habit of leading her readers. She will certainly present two sides to every arguement, however she does make a habit of discounting the source she does not agree with, without offering any details as to why. Just a vague reference that they were often given to rumor. This did jar me out of a smooth read, as she often referenced Chapuys as a reliable source. While his is the more detailed source, it is full of rumor and opinion, biased as he was writing to a biased 3rd party in the Emperor. So while more detailed it is hardly more creditable than some of the other referenced sources. So while I dont disagree with the conclusions Ms Weir reached, the reader is not allowed to form their own unbiased opinion based on all research but is rather lead to share Ms Weir's opinion.

Fans of Alison Weir's previous works will not be disappointed with The Lady in the Tower. Weir has dedicated an entire book to painstakingly map out the final four months of Anne Boleyn's life. As one would expect, this book goes into an unprecedented amount of detail regarding Anne's downfall. Weir keeps her promise to readers by largely skipping over Anne's early life and primarily focusing on the events following Anne's last miscarriage.

My biggest praise of this book is its overall consistency. Weir discusses every milestone in Anne's speedy fall from favor at length, and fairly weighs alternative interpretations of the historical record. Weir argues her case as convincingly as any University-based historian, and does so with a writing style that captivated me as a reader. Readers who are familiar with this story will undoubtedly gain new perspectives on the less well-known characters, namely the men who were accused as Anne's co-conspirators.

Following Weir's assessment of Anne's downfall is an extremely interesting set of chapters regarding Anne's burial and the transformation of her legacy over the past several centuries. Although the missing patches of evidence from Anne's downfall will invite historians to reinterpret the events for countless years ahead, Weir's book is a solid and engaging evaluation.

I have several of Alison Weir's books, she is a remarkable author. This particular book takes you through the actual tower days and is full of really interesting information. There are facts that haven't really been published and Alison gets them out there. You won't be disappointed with this book.

Alison Weir's new book "The Lady in the Tower: The fall of Anne Boleyn" covers the final four months of Anne Boleyn's life. These four months start with the bad omen on January 29, 1536 of a supposable male child stillbirth, and end May 19 on Tower Green with Anne losing her head. Weir has done a great job delving into the available source material. She adds new insights into old myths and traditional beliefs and debunks several of these. This is a fairly balance look into the life and death struggles that were taking place during those precarious Tudor days. Weir very effectively shows how Anne "had been one of the most powerful ever to occupy the consort's throne..and her overthrow illustrated just how fragile was the balance of power at the English court." She certainly is on Anne's side with all the historical evidence and theories that are presented within the book. From these, it is easy to see why Anne ended up in this deadly predicament and why her trial was such a miscarriage of justice. Here was a young lady very unprepared to deal with the politics of the era. Without the power base, or unable to keep her power base, she was left an expendable pawn . Especially, when she failed to produce an male heir to the throne. (Ironically her daughter Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, would ascend to the throne in 1558). These left her days numbered, and unlike Katherine of Aragon she had no one to left to fall back upon for support. This would lead her into the unenviable power struggle with Cromwell and certainly doomed her to failure and death. Weir has done her research into the available histories. She adds a nice touch that helps out those of us not familiar with the sources by pointing out their biases as well as their value in understanding Anne Boleyn's time and place. Eustache Chapuys, Charles V's diplomatic Imperial Ambassador to England, is used as a source quite often in Weir's book. She shows that he was a fairly reliable and important barometer of Henry's royal court. While he was no a friend of Anne Boleyn, and he did have his biases, even he saw the injustice of her verdict. For anyone interested in Anne Boleyn's life, the Tudors and or English Royal history this book is a must. Well worth adding to the history shelf.

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn is based around facts surrounding Queen Anne Boleyn's fall from court. Author, Alison Weir tries to piece together the best she can what really happened to cause Anne Boleyn to land in the tower and eventually be beheaded.

At first I thought I wasn't sure how much I would like this book. This is only because when I realized that this book was non fiction with some fiction mixed into it, I wasn't looking for a book all about facts. I devoured this book in one day. A big reason for this goes to the author, Alison Weir. She kept the facts about Anne Boleyn's rise and fall interesting and not dry. There was definitely a plot against Anne Boleyn to eliminate her from power. I t was intriguing to learn about how far her enemies reach went. The one person who was very influential in having Anne beheaded was Thomas Cromwell. Alison Weir, I felt did a good job with her research and filling in the gaps on the fall of Anne Boleyn. Fans of the Tudor era should check out The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn.

Even today, in the 21st century, the life of England's Henry VIII continues to be a subject of controversy. Interest in the Tudors is especially high since the airing of a same-titled television series on the U.S. Showtime network. That show covered the subject in a kind of Cliff Notes way - time was telescoped, people were left out or combined - but it looked great.

Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII and the mother of the little princess who would rule as Queen Elizabeth I.

Writer Alison Weir takes it for granted the her reader will have more than rudimentary knowledge of the affairs of the English court at this time. She wastes no words giving us the history of the throne, the kingdom, or Anne and Henry for that matter. She jumps right in and tells us exactly what it was like during those last few months of Anne's reign as Queen of England.

The difference in Weir's book from all of the countless others, is that Weir did not base her writings on later published works about Anne. She went to contemporary accounts. And the difference is amazing.

Even if you think you know everything about Anne. Even if you don't want to read one more book about the same tired subject. Read "The Lady in the Tower: The Fall Anne Boleyn." It more than lives up to its promise and title. You will spend those last hours with Anne in the tower, with both of you wondering exactly how and why she ended up there. Bravo to Alison Weir!

- On a side note, I always wondered why it would be a greater punishment to be hanged and then drawn and quartered....well....it's not pleasant to find out why the King would sometimes lessen the sentence to merely hanging.

The story of Henry VIII and his wives is notorious. Anne Boleyn has been written about, filmed, portrayed in plays, and read about by schoolchildren around the globe. This book had large shoes to fill in if it was to offer new insight into the executed queen, and it met that challenge. Well researched and documented, this book likely offers interested scholars a novel look into Anne's life.

I am not a scholar in this area, so I found the repetitive detail and in-text citing of every missive between courtiers and minor players tiresome and hard to follow. Perhaps this was my mistake in thinking that this history, in which fact really is stranger than fiction, would be told in a way that was appealing to a wider audience.

I cannot fault the author for her eye to detail, but I can warn those of you wanting a higher level overview to steer clear.

I have read a few of Alison Weir's other Tudor period biographies but this one by far shoots through the roof. I have always had a deep interest in Anne Boleyn and this book goes over every detail and every possible theory on and about the events that surrounded Anne's fall from grace. The research Mrs. Weir did for this book is astonishing and anyone who has ever had an interest in Anne Boleyn should definitely pick this up. I am nearly finished and I have not been able to put it down!!

There is the air of settling things for once and for all in The Lady in the Tower, Alison Weir's third to extensively cover some aspect of Anne Boleyn's life. The subject for this biographical smack down is Anne's fall and the method is an exhaustive (and, yes, occasionally exhausting) comparison of the contemporary and near contemporary accounts of her arrest, trial and execution.

This goes well beyond "was she guilty" and extends to why was she accused, who stood to gain from her fall and even "what was she wearing at her execution". Of course, what Anne wore is not the point, Weir uses the conflicting accounts of the simple matter of whether Anne's hair was loose or in a net to show us how little these accounts agree upon.

Weir deserves praise for her willingness to draw conclusions and eliminate possibilities. Where another historian might hedge with "perhaps" and "probably" she's not afraid to weigh in with an "almost certainly. Nor is Weir afraid of a fight, calling out such fellow Tudor experts such as Eric Ives and Retha Warnicke when she disagrees. It's refreshing, frankly as is Weir's lack of fear in pronouncing the work of Joanna Denny wrong-headed at best. If at this point you're reading this wondering who on earth these people are then think twice about embarking on this book.

I've read nearly all of Weir's books so I feel safe in saying that this is the least accessible of her works. It is well written but because it starts shortly before Anne is arrested, the book provides little to no background on her. If you want an account of how Henry met Anne you'll need to look elsewhere. I'm a Tudorphile so I enjoyed this book. I've read most of the secondary sources discussed in the book which made Weir's assessment of say Retha Warnicke's theories all the more interesting.

This is not a book for someone new to the story of Anne Boleyn nor even for someone who simply knows the story of the second of Henry VIII's six wives. If you are very interested in Tudor history and Anne Boleyn in particular, however, you'll find this book interesting. Recommended for Tudorphiles but not novices.

In The Lady in the Tower, Alison Weir has turned her sights toward that much maligned figure, Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Most everyone knows the story of how she captured his attention, igniting the English break with Rome amid a scandal of epic proportions. Ms. Weir has focused this book on the final few months of Anne's life, when her detractors came together and brought her down from the mighty heights she had climbed. Meticulously researched, Ms. Weir shows us, in intimate detail, the events leading up to Anne's arrest and execution, and even gives us a glimpse into the immediate aftermath.

Beginning around the time of Anne's miscarriage of her hoped-for prince in January 1536, Ms. Weir brings to light the machinations of Thomas Cromwell, the King's powerful secretary, in trumping up charges of sexual scandal and treason against Anne. Ms. Weir makes her case very plainly, showing in well-documenteed detail how Cromwell was able to take a few random instances and make them seem much more sinister, thus dooming Anne, her brother George, and four more men to death. She lays a case for the reasons behind his motives, and even gives logical explanations for how Henry was brought to believe his wife, for whom he had given up his religious tradition, had had multiple lovers who had plotted his death. The characters surrounding the tragic events are well drawn out; the reader is able to grasp personalities and see just how Anne was trapped through those about her and her own foolish mouth.

The Lady in the Tower is very well written and very readable; it is advisable to have at least a small working knowledge of the era and the circumstances in order to help keep all the characters straight (and many of them have very similar names to make it doubly hard!). But the style of writing, while academic, is very accessible and easy to follow. A few times I almost felt there was too much information given, but Ms. Weir uses it all to build a very strong case for exactly how Anne's removal transpired. Very informative and interesting, this is a non-fiction book that reads more like fiction. Truly enjoyable.

The story begins with a brief "Preface," in which Weir notes why she wrote the story of the rapid downfall of Anne Boleyn. She says (Page ix): "Yet never before--surprisingly--has there been a book devoted entirely to the fall of Anne Boleyn, and it has been a deeply satisfying experience having the scope to research in depth this most discussed and debated aspect of Anne's life."

Weir does her usual detective work, pulling together many different sources and trying to explain how the Queen could lose power so rapidly and end up being put to death. There are many issues addressed here, such as Anne's strong reformist religious views (which created enemies for her); her rather nasty treatment of Katherine of Aragon's daughter, Mary; her hot temper; her tendency to say things aloud in public that ought to have been mentioned only in private. Too, the story of her inability to deliver a healthy male heir to Henry VIII was a key factor in her fall from power. By itself, it would not have been sufficient to have led to her death, so Weir looks beyond that to understand the dynamics. The loss of a fetus at the first of the year in 1536 began the descent, and her death came on May 19th.

Politics, too, must be understood. There was a Boleyn faction or party that had grown powerful. Other political figures, such as Thomas Cromwell, felt threatened by them. The story that Weir tells is of the determination by Cromwell and his colleagues (typically crazy quilt alliance, with people shifting their loyalties as tides changed) to undercut their opponents. The tool? To destroy the Queen herself. Much of the story is the set of tactics used to end the Queen's hold over Henry, which relationship had had its ups and downs. One key weapon? The claim that Anne had had trysts with others while married to Henry VIII (including her own brother) and that she was plotting to kill the King himself.

The Queen's end showed her going to her death with dignity and courage.

Weir does a fine job of separating fact from fiction, looking at the charges against the Queen and analyzing the extent to which they might be accurate or not. Was Anne Boleyn framed? Weir considers that question extensively.

There is a nice set of genealogies at the outset, which I find vital for keeping the players straight.

All in all, another fine historical volume by Alison Weir.

... but whose was the crime? Was Anne Boleyn truly guilty of committing adultery with even some of the men charged and later convicted of the crime alongside her -- a treasonous offense that would cost them their lives? Alison Weir's answer is a definite 'no', and to her, the real crime is the 'frameup' of Anne, her brother and her courtiers by manipulative opponents who were fearful she would be able to undermine their policies and positions.

Nonetheless, despite the absence of a real 'crime', this latest biographical offering from Weir really does read like a true crime novel -- it has the investigation, complete with secret backroom plea bargains and deals, and then some dramatic court testimony, followed by some (truly chilling) details of the punishment. Weir's real achievement, in my view, is her decision to compress Anne Boleyn's story into the final few months of her life: months that began with the death of her former rival, Katherine of Aragon, and culminated with Anne's own replacement as Queen in May of 1536, less than six months later. It's an approach that makes this book a fast-paced read, and a fascinating one, that gave me a better sense of the conspiratorial nature of Henry VIII's court. (Coming after the publication of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall: A Novel (Man Booker Prize), it's also a good 'companion read' to that fiction, even though Mantel's look at the Tudor court through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell ends before the events of 1536.) I was also interested in Weir's brief yet thorough looks at Jane Seymour's actions and possible attitudes in this biography. If it sometimes feels that there is little new to say about Anne and her rise and fall, I am struck at how much more there must be to say about Jane Seymour, who served both of her predecessors, whose brothers became powerful magnates and who was mother to Henry's only cherished male heir.

This isn't a flawless book, however. While Weir trumpets her reliance on primary sources in her introduction and says she didn't even read any secondary sources until she had formed her own opinions, those tend to parallel fairly closely those of noted Tudor scholar Eric Ives. (To be fair, she acknowledges his groundbreaking research.) While much of the argument may be new to the general reader, it's not 'new' in a scholarly sense, therefore, and anyone who has read Ives' writings and expects major fresh analysis likely will be somewhat disappointed. There are also some flaws in her conclusion, such as her willingness to identify Jane Rochford as the mysterious witness on whose evidence much of the case was constructed. But there's no evidence of that. Similarly, at least one of the sources she relies on has been discredited.

Beyond sourcing, the only major irritations here are small stylistic 'tics'. Weir repeatedly brings forward theories, only to tell us they don't hold up to scrutiny or have long since been discounted. In that case, why bring them forward? Just to show us how thorough she has been? Puhleez... A trademark of Weir's writing is her willingness to speculate, and that leads to a lot of 'hedging' about her conclusion: personally, I got very tired indeed of reading phrases like "it may be", "no doubt", "it seems like", and "it's possible that". Surely a talented and prolific writer can devise alternatives after more than ten biographies??

Still, this is a book that will make Tudor-junkies happy, and it's a lively and intriguing read that for most will shed new light on Anne's role as queen, Henry's role in her downfall, and Cromwell's role as eminence grise. Talk about a toxic menage-a-trois...

The fall of Anne Boleyn has been covered many times. Paul Friedmann's study was one of the earliest to discuss the event in full, and arguably remains the finest treatment of the subject. More recently, Eric Ives has covered the same ground in his magisterial work. Alison Weir's book is the first to be dedicated entirely to Anne's fall, trial, execution and legend.

This is the book Alison Weir has wanted to write all along. In researching it, she has found that some of her earlier conclusions were incorrect and had to be revised. This is not bad scholarship, but the mark of someone who has matured as her career has progressed, and who has the confidence and integrity to admit that she had previously gone astray.

The book begins with the famous joust of January 1536, and takes the reader beyond Anne's death to include the legends that inevitably surround such a romantic and tragic figure. The narrative is generally tight and fast-paced, although there is some repetition and one or two inaccuracies. The reader is drawn into the events as they occur, building up tension, and even a sense of fear and frustration, as Anne's story races to its inevitable conclusion. Extra information is provided by use of flashback, while characters are introduced with the expected mini-biographies, bringing them to life, rather than condemning them as two-dimensional figures, whose only role is to provide the scenery. Particularly interesting is the work done on the men who were condemned alongside Anne, and thanks must go to Mrs Weir for presenting for the first time (please correct me if I'm wrong) what is believed to be the portrait of one of them: Sir Francis Weston.

Alison Weir is often accused of not being objective in her approach to her work. This is a fair comment, although her subjectivity is more obvious in some books than in others. Here, it is clear that her sympathies lie with Anne. This does no harm to the book, as might be thought. Weir is dealing with a highly emotive issue, and she does it well.

There is nothing in this book that won't be familiar to scholars in the field, but much that will be new to general readers, and it is those to whom this book is directed. For those new to the subject, this book is an excellent primer. With a little tweaking and refinement, this book could, and perhaps should, earn Mrs Weir an honorary doctorate, bringing her into the world of academic scholarship.

I've been interested in Anne Boleyn's story for many years. I ploughed through the book to the end though it was a hard furrow. Ms. Weir usually writes a book I can follow without too much effort (I'm a middle brow) but not this one. It daunted me.

The book is thorough. There is so much in the book: almost a moment by moment sifting of the last four months of Anne's life; description of the trials; assessment of the characters of the persons involved; the situation regarding the dissolution of the monestaries (Anne wanted the profits spent on education. Cromwell to consolodate and enhance Henry's - and his - political power.) The points of view from contemporary (The state papers or "Letters & Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII"; Eustache Chapuy's reports to Emperor Charles. [He was the 'Spanish ambassador' hostile to Anne] ; the Lord Mayor of London's comments about the trials.) to the modern day historians.

I think Ms. Weir discussed every theory about why Anne was arrested and executed. Did Anne die just to make way for Jane Seymour? Did she also stand in Thomas Cromwell's path? Did Henry kill her because he truly believed she was a witch and had beguiled him into marrying her? Why did Henry kill her instead of merely having the marriage annulled?

It's not a large book, but I found all that information overwhelming and hard to sort out - which is unusual in a book by Alison Weir. The Six Wives of Henry VIII Almost too thorough for a popular history book. Scholars are cited and criticized. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn Eric Ives in particular. Ms. Weir has made her mark as a scholar to be taken seriously with this one. Well worth it for other Tudor scholars, but hard going for the likes of the average public library user like me, or perhaps for anyone who knows Anne only through "The Tudors" The Tudors: King Takes QueenThe Tudors - The Complete First Seasonand "The Other Boleyn Girl".The Other Boleyn GirlThe Other Boleyn Girl

Whew, this is a book that ostensibly looks intently upon a few short days of English history, specifically the fall and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn who was famously beheaded on the orders of her husband, a former king of England. The book actually covers a broader span of time through its excellent background story of the events that lead up, or perhaps lead up, to the culminating events resulting in the deaths of Queen Anne and her convicted 'lovers.'
The reason one says "perhaps lead up to" is that the historical record is sparse, often contradictory, and not infrequently made up from whole cloth.
It's obvious from reading this book that there is a raft of literature that has sprung up around the life and death of Queen Anne and her husband, and also that the people interested in the subject are a tight knit group, as Ms. Weir continually addresses the specific objections partisan Anne historians may have, and also the books and writings of other authors.
IThe author definitely knows her audience and writes with them in mind throughout.
It's easy to see why she does this, for how many casual readers, even those with an interest in Anne Boleyn, are going to go looking for a book that only speaks to one week out of her admittedly short life?
This is where the trainspotting crowd comes in. This book is going to be most interesting to people who love the little bits of things, and I mean every excruciating detail (Anne's head was seen to be mouthing words even as it lay on the scaffold floor detached from her body).
In other words, it isn't for everyone. All in all it is fascinating, however.
The author's treatment of the subject is excellent and caused me to look for other works by her. I don't exactly recommend this book unless you are one of 'them' and you know who you are, in which case you have probably already ordered it.

I'm a big fan of Alison Weir's for being the gifted historian that she is. I'm a bigger fan of Anne's for my money no more fascinating woman ever lived. I'm not alone in that, her name still makes the books fly off the shelves as it should. No matter how many tales are to be told of her they are all interesting. In the steady disciplined hand of Ms. Weir she comes back to life but this time shrouded in sadness her brief reign destroyed. Poignant and readable a winner of a book.

Historian Alison Weir takes readers on a deep look at the last days of Anne Boleyn and what led to her execution. Interestingly, the author admits her research changed several of her notions and nukes popular beliefs. The key change that Ms. Weir claims is that she exonerates King Henry VIII of directing his principal adviser Thomas Cromwell to find seditious excuses to rid himself of his second queen so that he can remarry a woman who will give him a male heir. Instead, the author makes a powerful case that Cromwell realizes his boss' spouse was a politically shrewd rival unlike her naïve predecessor Katherine of Aragon so with allies he trumped up false charges of treason and adultery with five men including incest. In other words the monarch's advisor conducted a blood of one velvet coup.

This is a super biography that is rich with supporting data yet is easy to read and follow the detailed support and conclusions drawn by Alison Weir; who makes a strong case that Anne declaring her innocence all the way to the gallows was telling the truth. Other related "truisms" are also shredded, but it is the historian's powerful argument of Anne Boleyn's innocence, Thomas Crowell's diabolically successful plotting, and King Henry's being bamboozled that make for a great look at who did what leading to the second wife's execution.

Harriet Klausner

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

The Lady in the Tower is the story Anne Boleyn--or, really, the story of her downfall, focusing specifically on the last four months of her life in 1536. It opens on the day of that now-famous joust, and continues through the executions of Anne and her supposed lovers, and gives a "what happened later" about some of the major players from one of the most infamous judicial trials of English history.

It's a pretty solid book, in which Alison Weir examines closely the primary source material in order to draw her own conclusions about what happened. In my case, she's really preaching to the choir about Anne's innocence in the charges laid against her (as Weir says, her highest ambition was to become Queen, so why would she have several meaningless affairs, without anyone knowing, in a court where secrets weren't kept for long?). Although the story of Anne Boleyn has been told over and over again, in fiction and nonfiction books as well as film, Weir manages to make it interesting again. It's not quite as groundbreaking as Alison Weir claims, but it's excellent nonetheless.

When I first started reading this book, I wondered how anyone could possibly write a 350-page book about such a short time period? That's where Weir's famous attention to detail comes into play: she really does examine the evidence thoroughly. People like Thomas Cromwell and Jane Seymour, as well as Anne's family, don't come off well in this book, but Henry VIII is treated rather compassionately, all things considered. I've always thought of Henry in the traditional, tyrannical sense, and Weir's spin on Henry's actions and reactions really made me think about things for a bit. For someone looking for a general biography of Anne Boleyn, they might be disappointed by this book; but otherwise it's an excellent, in-depth look at the last days of one of Europe's most famous queens.

Ms. Weir has compiled a significant amount of original research into the fascinating story of the end days of Anne Boleyn.

So why two stars?

I'm sorry to say, but with such a compelling narrative I would have liked better organization, better editing, and frankly -- better writing.

Ms. Weir sometimes does not know what to do with all the information she has collected, so the book as a result is very poorly organized and sometimes lacks direction and focus.

I would still recommend it for those very interested in the period, but for most everyone else I would take a pass.

Anne Boleyn has been written about extensively, even by Alison Weir herself. Her lastest offering, The Lady in the Tower, is a comprehensive look at the final months of Anne Boleyn, the factors that played into her downfall, the participants in her doom, and a moment-to-moment recreation of her execution (including what she was probably wearing and her final words). It reads more like a novel, and is packed with historical information. Weir gives us the viewpoint from several different original sources and then draws her own conclusions or, where the outcome is more vague, leaves the matter open to interpretation. Weir provides interesting footnotes and even includes an appendix titled "Legends" recounting some of the myths about Anne over the centuries and tales of her ghost haunting various locations.

I loved this book and raced through it. It is an easy read, and does not quote so heavily from sources that every other phrase is quotemarked, which is a blessing. The prepublication version I read contains no picture insert, so I can't comment on that, but the information does indicate one will be included in the finaal version.

Weir says that Anne's greatest legacy to England is her daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, and provides the many clues that tell us how the Virgin Queen felt about her mother, executed for treason and adultery when Elizabeth was only a toddler, that she never openly acknowledged. The most poignant of these is the gold ring Eliabeth wore for most of her adult life, engraved with "ER" and containing miniature portraits of herself and her mother and only removed upon her death, to be given to James I as proof of her death. One is left to imagine what England would have been like, and Elizabeth's life and reign as well, had Anne been allowed to live and influence her strong-minded and greatly loved daughter.

On the plus side, this is another well-researched history from a well established and highly regarded author. Alison Weir has produced several such books that uniquely combine an engaging narrative with extensive detail and supporting documentation. However they are not at all dry or academic in style. If one wants to read about fifteenth or sixteenth century England, especially about the leading women of that age, Alison Weir is definitely the place to start.
On the minus side, this is another book about Anne Boleyn, already a well-ploughed field. Ms. Weir does a very good job of addressing the multitude of theories surrounding the dramatic and rapid fall of Anne but there is little new in this widely known story. While well written, this book assumes the reader is familiar with the story in a fair amount of detail and does not introduce its characters or events very evenly. This would make it difficult for someone not familiar with the story of Anne Boleyn to fully enjoy the book's attention to detail. In places it is unnecessarily redundant and Ms. Weir drives home a point.
As with other books, Ms. Weir includes a lot a speculation about the roles or motives of people involved in the demise of Anne Boleyn. It is almost impossible to provide definitive proof regarding motives, and this speculation leads to a lot of "could have" and "may have" statements. But rather than distract the reader they present the insights of a very informed author that shows her understanding of the era and human nature.

This truly unique book on the downfall of Queen Anne Boleyn of England opens with an extremely well-narrated chapter that describes the last time Anne saw Henry VIII before her execution--an apparently innocent court joust that Henry left abruptly, probably because Anne's enemy Cromwell had provided the decisive trumped-up evidence of her unfaithfulness to a king desperate for a male heir. She had miscarried not long before, and this unsuccessful pregnancy probably sealed her fate. Cromwell wanted to seal a particular kind of alliance and the superiority of a certain faction at court, and Anne was in the way; these desires, in combination with the fact that Henry was tiring of Anne and thought he needed a male heir, sealed her fate.

This story, of course, is nothing new, but Weir tells it in an intriguing manner--by a painstaking examination of the various available primary sources on the topic to answer the various questions that arise when discussing why Anne died: who sought her death? how was it arranged? who benefited? how did it take place? On the way, Weir clears up centuries of prejudice and confusion and debunks myths right and left. At the same time, she never neglects the spellbinding narrative she sets up in the first chapter.

This is responsible historical work--the footnoting style is not going to satisfying professional historians, but the book is an important, novel entry in an area saturated with contributions for hundreds of years that actually succeeds in giving the reader a sense of how historians come to particular conclusions about history. The sources, the most interesting part of historical work, come alive. As a professionally written history for the educated general reader, it is to my knowledge unsurpassed.

This book was at times a compelling read and at other times, it was a difficult one, akin to reading a college-level history book. I understand that this is a biographical narrative of the last months of Anne Boleyn's life, but I thought the subject matter seemed worth the risk. The plot line is well known, yet the Machiavellian machinations of Sir Thomas Cromwell (and others) may not be. Additionally, the insight into Henry VIII and his philandering behavior coupled with the divine rationalization that fueled his utter lack of accountability set the table for a story chock full of fascinating individuals.
The author, a specialist in this area, writes a very balanced book, sifting through the enormous levels of data to come up with a story distilled of prejudice or personal agendas. Making it even better, she analyzes each bit of evidence to demonstrate why she considers some more strongly than others. There is no denying the commitment and thorough knowledge of the subject matter. It is impossible not to be impressed with her devotion to getting at the truth behind these tragic circumstances.
The only draw back I had, and it's on a clearly personal level, is that the book was at times very dull. The excessive evidentiary data and the huge cast of characters of varying importance who also happened to have very similar and thus confusing names overshadowed the natural drama in the chain of events.
In the end, reviews express our opinions and are thus fraught with our own shortcomings. They reflect equally the product and the reviewer. Therefore, the tedium necessary for me to get through this book worked against all the laudable research skills and subject devotion of the author. To be fair I can easily see the appeal of this remarkable book for the majority of indivudals who are better equipped to read and appreciate such a work.

Over the past couple of years I have been reading a lot of books on Tudor history. In all of that reading, I have found Alison Weir's books to be the most informative and engaging. When I saw that this book was available for review I was incredibly excited. I was a little concerned that much of what would be contained in this book would seem like a re-run after having read Alison Weir's books on life in Henry VIII's court and her books on his wives and children. So given that I had a little trepidation that I might be left feeling a bit disappointed, I'm happy to report that this book is filled with lots of details and insights on Anne Boleyn that have not appeared in previous books by Weir. There are plenty of points that have been expressed in previous books by Weir but it's not to the point that you feel like you've read it all before. Weir is detail oriented and writes an engaging account of the circumstances and events leading to the demise of Anne Boleyn. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to read an informative account on Ann Boleyn's fall.

I truly enjoyed this book, although I had very little prior knowledge of Anne Boleyn. I liked that the book covered just the last few months of her life, and went into great detail about the characters involved.

Far from a boring account of royalty in Tudor England, Ms. Weir includes interesting letters and accounts, as well as several family tree charts to help the reader keep everyone straight.

Ms. Weir does an excellent job of bringing to life the people, culture and intrigue of Henry VIII's court. One can't help but feel a shiver of fear when reading about how the whims of a arrogant, self indulgent king could send even a queen to her death

The Lady in the Tower, the Fall of Anne Boleyn is another addition to our collection of this fascinating historical figure. [We own The Tudors series & Anne of the Thousand Days]

Anne Boleyn, pursued by King Henry VIII at all costs, destroys his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinande II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castille.

In 1502, Arthur, brother to Henry VIII, dies of an unknown disease, throwing young Henry into having to fulfill the royal duties. To maintain the alliance between England and Spain, Henry marries Catherine but in order to do so, he obtains special dispensation from the Pope because under Cannon law to marry the widow of a brother, was then considered illegal and incestuous.

Catherine swore that her marriage to Prince Arthur was not consummated and that her marriage to Henry VIII was therefore, her only real union. Time passes and Catherine does not produce male sons and Henry VIII no longer cares about maintaining a relationship with Spain and to marry Anne Boleyn, he tries to annul his marriage, claiming that it is based on sin.

King Henry VIII is key to understanding the history of the English monarchy for he is responsible for the separation of the Anglican Church from Rome and for establishing the English monarch as the Supreme Head of the Church of England

Anne Boleyn withholds all favors from the King to capture and sustain his interest, by her public disdain of his favor; she literally becomes the king's obsession. From her sister's affair with the king, she had learned that any woman that gave herself to the king was soon discarded for another conquest. Anne Boleyn promises to give Henry many sons and finally, she is crowned Queen of England.

Anne's world starts to unravel when she produces a daughter, Elizabeth I, and a son who dies at birth. Soon, the king starts to consider an affair with Jane Seymour, his fifth cousin three times removed. Jane Seymour was a lady-in-waiting for Catherine of Aragon. As Anne's marriage to Henry VIII falls apart, Henry believes the accusations of adultery placed against Anne Boleyn by Cromwell probably because he now wants to marry Jane Seymour.

While she lived close to five hundred years ago, we are still rather interested in this colorful character. With this work, Alison Weir shares a work that opens the door to the dark days that brought the life of Anne Boleyn to an end.

The Lady in the Tower provides details on those who conspired to seal her fate. If you are interested in historical facts, in the courage of a woman who dared aspire to become Queen and in the evolution of British monarchy... don't miss reading this book.