The Lady In The Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn [Paperback]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this almost investigative style of writing by Alison Weir on this book. When it came to details of Anne's fall, she left no corner or stone unturned, unearthing vivid accounts and details concerning not only Anne herself but the men which she was also accused of commiting adultery with, along with the accusations hurled at her by some of her ladies in waiting such as the Countess of Worcester and Lady Rochford, both of whose motives were revealed to be highly circumspect.

However, what could have been an even greater work still (in my own humble opinion anyway) were sometimes spoilt by her portrayal of Henry as an almost decent, reasonable man with regard to his treatment of his second wife. This is the man who executed two wives, threatened at least three more with the same fate; threatened his own daughter with execution should she not relinquish to his demands; executed members of his own family (including the aged Margaret Pole); encouraged a court where ministers were frequently catapulted from "flavour of the month" to traitors; raided and destroyed abbeys to profit the royal coffeurs; practically sold his own sister to a riddled and aged French king in order to secure an alliance.

While Weir is correct in asserting that he treated the initial stages of the affair, much in the same way as he had done with Katherine Howard, she appears to attribute almost the whole orchestration of Anne's fall to Cromwell, while implying that Henry believed Anne's guilt or was manipulated into doing so by Cromwell (depending on which way one perceives it to be).
By Cromwell's own almost boastful admission, he probably played an instrumental part in her downfall, however Henry is almost abdicated of all responsibility in this work, of Anne's plight. This, despite the fact that he was known to be feasting and enjoying himself with Jane Seymour, whilst Anne and her fellow accused were awaiting trial and as Ives has pointed out, Henry would later indirectly admit to his involvement in her downfall and the real motives behind it when warning Jane Seymour of the dangers of meddling with state affairs.

Anne was also I felt, unneccessarily harshly portrayed in other ways throughout the book, rather than the author maintaining an impartial stance. Yes, she was known to have treated Mary callously, however Weir neglected to mention previous attempts by Anne to reconcile herself with Catherine's daughter and almost vindicates any ill treatment caused to her on Henry's part.
When in the course of the book, Henry is said to have praised Mary with "tears in his eyes" in the face of Anne's threats, Weir seemingly forgets that in the reign of Jane Seymour, it would be he and not the deceased Anne, who would be ultimately responsible for forcing Mary to acknowledge her own illegitimacy, with the threat of imprisonment and execution if she did not do so. Indeed, the events following Anne's removal from power highlight that far from being returned to stable and religious conservative government, the country would continue to be plunged into ever worse religious turmoil, which should indicate that the events of 1533 - 1536, may too easily have been attributed to Anne rather than the real perpetrator, Henry.

Finally, my last criticism of this book is her almost contradictory stance on Anne's guilt, at some points she appears to imply that Anne is guilty, for when Anne arrives at the Tower for instance and declares that her appartment is "too good" for her. Such a statement need not necessarily be corroborative proof of guilt but merely indicative of a woman on the brink of what may well have been a nervous collapse, as well we may expect her to have been bearing her circumstances. Also, her nervous babbling whilst imprisoned in the Tower is sometimes implied to be indications of guilt, yet once again we can hardly imagine that a woman in Anne's circumstances, untold of what was unfolding in the outside world, was necessarily of sound mind, and as Starkey has explained, her daily revelations were part of a quest to vindicate her, although we can see how this may have been twisted to serve the ends of others.

Weir also downplays the growing London support which Anne began to receive in her final throes which downcasts the theory that most of the city believed in her complicity.

Before this book I had never read any of Alison Weir's previous work, though Anne Boleyn's story has captivated me since studying the Tudor period in school, so when I saw a write-up of this book in a national newspaper I knew I had to read it. I wasn't at all disappointed.

I thought I knew quite a bit about Anne Boleyn. The story of her refusal to sleep with Henry VIII until they were married (or until they knew they could marry), to their marriage and then the birth of arguably Britain's greatest Queen, are all well documented via TV documentaries and the like, so I wasn't sure what I would learn from this book, but in focusing on Anne's fall, Weir has cast new light on what has to be one of the darkest periods of English history. Instead of the run-of-the mill 'she was set up' scenario we so often see, Weir examines all the evidence available and delves far below the surface.

There were times when I felt that Weir was implying that Anne was guilty, her refusal to commit to the idea that the charges against Anne were trumped up caused some frustration. On the other hand I found myself asking the very question Weir herself deals with late in the book, i.e. what could Anne have gained from hooking up with any of her co-accused, she was already married to the most powerful man in the country, who, even if his passion had faded, could still protect her from her enemies? That is what I think Weir does so well with this book, she makes the reader think and question everything for themselves rather than blindly following her lead.

The details of the sort men Rochford, Brereton, Weston, Norris and Smeaton were was almost completely new to me, and fascinating. Having now seen the details of the men and understood that they were all considered to be less than whiter-than-white, it is clear how charges of the nature they faced stuck, and seemed (at least at the time) credible. However, it is also quite easy to see how the men could have been targeted to blacken Anne's name beyond redemption.

I do feel that Weir is at times a bit too kind to Henry VIII. Sure, he demanded a thorough investigation into the allegations against Anne, and the trial followed the legal procedures of the day, but whilst the indictment against her was amended, why did Henry allow an indictment to go through that including charges that could not possibly be true because Anne was in other places at the time? Then there is the detail that Anne's executioner was called from France before Anne was condemned. These details, and others, add weight to the idea that rather than almost blindly following Cromwell's lead, Henry was probably a key player in the downfall of Anne Boleyn, or at the very least had convinced himself of her guilt, a notion that Weir plays down.

The part of the book that covers the executions of Anne and her co-accused is harrowing. Weir's writing is so vivid that it becomes almost possible for the reader to become part of events. I have to say that I have never been moved to tears by a history book until now. Then we see the likely effect that Anne's death had on her daughter, who wasn't even three when these events took place. However, again I wondered why Henry's reluctance to have what happened mentioned in front of Elizabeth was purely the act of a loving and protective father (as Weir implies) or the act of a man who had something to feel guilty about. Perhaps we will never really know.

I love Alison Weir's books and have read or purchased most of them. I have a real, enthusiastic love for this period in history and I have always found Weir's books to be eminently easy to read and not too stuffy or academic.

I have always had a fascination for Anne Boleyn and have read many books on her life, rise, fall and death, but this one was really refreshing. It charted the lives of those around her in more detail without going down the route of solely focusing on the Katherine/Henry/Anne triangle which has happened in other books. I liked that this centred on Anne and gave some really interesting detail on her trial, the evidence of the men convicted with her and, most especially, her final days in the Tower and her execution. I felt it really brought her back to life and you could get a palpable sense of her fear and anxiety as you read how she prepared for her execution, only to find it postponed.

I also liked the section on the young Elizabeth as I often think she's a little forgotten in the momentous events surrounding her mother. I always think it's terribly poignant that Elizabeth forever wore a ring with a secret portrait of Anne in it, which was only discovered on Elizabeth's death.

I found the chapter on the Victorians exhuming the bones in the Tower Chapel fascinating and I also liked the 'myth and ghost' section at the end which was different and shows how enduring Anne's story has become.

Anne's was such a meteoric rise and spectacular fall that it makes for eternal fascination. Alison Weir's writing, I think, will make that life so much more accessible and ensure that we don't forget this remarkable woman.