The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn
In addition to sparking the English Reformation, Henry VIII provided some of the 16th century’s hottest gossip, with Anne Boleyn at its center. Experts have long disagreed about the real reasons behind Anne Boleyn’s execution, and historian Alison Weir attempts to uncover the truth in her new book The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn. The book considers multiple sources and carefully assesses each for its validity, ultimately painting a portrait of a conniving Thomas Cromwell and not-so-sweet Jane Seymour, who initally served Anne Boleyn and then replaced her as Henry’s third wife. Weir also discusses the little-known aspects of Boleyn’s reign, such as her role in Church reform as a passionate evangelist. Critics so far have praised Weir’s careful research and captivating writing, though the book comes to no definitive conclusions about what happened to Boleyn. If you enjoyed Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, The Lady in the Tower is its must-read, nonfiction companion.
“Dissecting four of the most momentous months in world history and providing an eminently judicious, thorough and absorbing popular history, Weir nimbly sifts through a mountain of historical research, allowing readers to come to their own conclusions about Henry’s doomed second queen.” – Publishers Weekly
“Weir puts Cromwell at the center of an intricate conspiracy, pulling together the queen’s enemies, uniting them briefly in the common cause of destroying her.” – Hilary Mantel, New York Times
“[Weir]‘s in a dialogue with the evidence — it’s something done all too infrequently — beckoning us to join her behind the scenes of a historian’s world.” – John Guy, The Times
“Those who are looking for straightforward narrative history should look elsewhere. Weir’s focus is sources: which can be trusted and which not.” – Leanda de Lisle, History Today
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