Book Review - 'The Lady in the Tower: the Fall of Anne Boleyn', by Alison Weir

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

Firstly, I finished this book about three weeks ago now, so I apologise if this review errs on the more 'general' side and doesn't give quotes or page references.

I was attracted to this book because it was not simply another re-telling of the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, but a specifically focussed study of the causes and events surrounding Anne's sudden fall from grace in May 1536. To her credit, Weir sticks firmly to this brief and, while there is some necessary 'filling in' of people's backgrounds etc, this is done only so it might further illuminate what happened during Anne's fall.

Although the title of the volume refers to Anne, I was particularly pleased to come across the section about those men who were executed with her (including her brother). The analysis of possible motives for why it was deemed politic to dispose of them (e.g. Brereton's involvement in Cheshire and Wales) and of the likelihood of some homosexuality on the part of George Boleyn, was extremely interesting and included many new ideas and research.

Weir consistently examines the events of Anne's fall using a variety of sources, such as ambassadorial reports and the accounts - both sympathetic and not - written many years after. These sources are questioned to get as close as one can to what actually happened during Anne's last days. The book does not end with Anne's death, but goes on to discuss ways in which Elizabeth I, her daughter, may have coped with her mother's memory, and how Anne herself has become embedded into popular folklore.

In conclusion, this is an excellently written and researched book and one which I found immensely informative, even though I have read a great deal about Anne already. My only regret is that it was not available earlier this year when I was writing an essay on Anne Boleyn, as it would have been a great help.