The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir

The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir

This is not a full length biography about Anne’s life, rather an in depth account of her final four months weaved superbly into the context of her life. Weir looks in detail at the events leading up to Anne’s arrest, her trial and execution.

Alison Weir reassesses all available evidence and examines popular myths and misconceptions about Anne’s demise. She paints a picture of the personalities that surrounded Anne during this dangerous time and asks all those important questions- was Anne an adulterous? Did Anne give birth to a deformed male foetus? Was George Boleyn homosexual? Did Henry have Cromwell fabricate the charges against Anne so that he could marry Jane Seymour? Was Henry an innocent victim of Cromwell’s vicious and calculated attack? Was Jane Seymour as mild and meek as she is often portrayed? What was the real reason behind Anne’s downfall?

Weir also looks at the lives of the men that were charged alongside Anne and offers a very detailed account of their involvement, trial and execution. There is no evidence left unturned and no detail too trivial.

When Weir reaches her conclusions it is easy to see how she got there and difficult to refute as all the evidence is so carefully and openly examined.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and basked in the details. Even the nitty, gritty of executions and the time it takes a person to die once their head has been struck off!

I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in Anne and looking to learn more about these unprecedented events in English history which led to the fall of Anne Boleyn.