Customer Reviews (77)

Intriguing look at the last days of a doomed queen
Much has been written on the tumultuous history of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Weir's novel covers just the last four months of Anne Boleyn's life and seeks to explain the contributing factors to her speedy downfall. You can tell from the first chapter that a lot of research went into this book and you would think that with a women who has been written about so much there would be nothing left to say. Even with the many novels I've read about her, I was still surprised by a few things: that Anne may have been Rh negative which would have caused her not to be able to carry a second pregnancy to term and also the explanation of who is buried at St. Peter ad Vinculaalong with Anne and how when it was excavated some of the bodies where not where they were originally thought to be. For example, some believe that the body found where Anne is supposed to be buried is Kathryn Howard.

I thought the book was very evenhanded when presenting the evidence. Weir uses letters and accounts from Anne's supporters and detractors although Eustace Chapuys and the Spanish Chronicle were cited more often than others. Some of the more interesting points of the book for me:

* That Anne was very influential politically and one of the reformation's strongest supporters
* That Thomas Cromwell was the architect of Anne's downfall because she was his political rival and Henry just went along with it all because he wanted her gone
* That Jane Seymour felt nothing about the predicament of her former mistress and just patiently bided her time until things were concluded and she could become Queen
* That given the time frame of the trial and execution, the swordsman from Calais would have to have been summoned before Anne's trial which would mean there is little doubt that the outcome of the trial was decided before it ever began

I had not previously thought of Anne as the political player we see here. Also while I do think Cromwell was instrumental in Anne's demise, I really don't think that Henry was led along like a hapless sheep. I'm more inclined to believe that Henry was directing some of the actions behind the scenes and Cromwell didn't engineer her downfall all on his own. I've never seen Jane Seymour portrayed as being so heartless either.

I'll admit even though history has often portrayed her as a scheming witch I have always had a soft spot for Anne Boleyn. While I don't believe she was completely without fault (her treatment of Princess Mary was deplorable) she certainly didn't deserve her fate.

One thing that irked me about this book though: Weir would mention another author's work as a source but then say that source as not very creditable. Why even mention it at all if she thought the author's work was so far off the mark? Jane Boleyn by Julia Fox comes to mind. Other than that this was a very detailed and compelling look at one of the most fascinating ladies in England's history.

The Fall of the Concubine
Henry VIII broke from Rome and almost got into a war with Charles V over his right to divorce his first wife and marry Anne Boleyn. In the end he was successful; he did divorce his wife without starting a major war, and he did marry Anne Boleyn. But he did not get what he really wanted, and that was a male heir. After a few premature births, Anne Boleyn fell from Henry's favor and ended up losing her head along with five other people; and Henry would go on to marry Jane Seymour. This is the story of the fall of Anne Boleyn, the Boleyn faction at court, and the men that were killed along with her. Alison Weir delves deep into the background of the characters of those involved, from the important to the not-so-important. She describes Anne as someone who over stepped her bounds with Henry, but was also worried at her inability to produce a male heir. Written in a prose that is easy to follow, the only hard part is the many names and titles that the author throws at the reader. This tells a story that has been told again and again. Be careful what you wish for.

Reviewed by: Kevin Winter

In an all or nothing homework assignment, Alison Weir took all
I read a review for "Contested Will" where the critic said that it was difficult to think of a better piece of scholarly work than the book he was reviewing. Out came the claws, from all angles. Poor guy got the works from all walks of Stratfordian professors. So at the risk of sounding ignorant about King Henry VIII's regin, I think "The Lady in the Tower" is a really great book.

It's dense. It's obvious Alison Weir did her homework. She fills in missing gaps however she sees appropriate, giving a fair share to each likely scenario. It's just a little sad to see how the high court of England invested more time and energy into bringing down a queen that they didn't like rather take care of their own citizens. But, that's history for you.

"The Lady in the Tower" is an excellent piece of scholarly work. Do with me what you will.

In Depth and Thorough
The Lady In The Tower, by Alison Weir, demonstrates her singular position as the popularizer of the Tudor Era.

This book delves into the personalities, plots and milieu surrounding the short, tragic life of Anne Boleyn.For readers who have enjoyed Weir's "Six Wives of Henry VII" or "Elizabeth" they will find a familiar style and pacing.As this is a narrow subject, Weir delves into a much more detailed telling of this story than she did in the two aforementioned and broader books.

Weir also plays sleuth on issues that remain concerning who exactly plotted Anne Boleyn's downfall as well as her status of chastity before experiencing her King.In Weir's hands, Anne is shown to be a devotee and advocate of religious reform.Not just a telling of the intrigue that brought Anne to her fate, this book seeks to explain some of the mysteries of her story through an examination of what evidence there is as well as reasoned speculation.

This is a tragic story well told.Although Weir's positions regarding facets of Anne's story are well built cases, they remain speculative and will add, I'm sure, fodder to the debate about this intriguing lady of Henry's court.

Big disappointment
I heard the author on NPR a few weeks ago, and liked her presentation very much.Bought this book based on Ms. Weir's comments about her research, etc.

Blech.

First: the book is highly repetitive, as though Weir was told x-number of words, no fewer.It would be half as many pages if she cut out the duplication.Which means you end up wading through it all.

Second: the book repeatedly contradicts itself: first Weir says that Anne was rightly convicted based on the laws of the land during her time, then two pages later gives you all the reasons why Anne's conviction was based on nothing more than a bunch of trumped up, false charges.When the charges are false, toots, that means that the conviction is *not* right or just.Get it?(Many, many pages spent on this meme.)

Third: "Well researched" in this case means incredibly bogged down with tedium that few care about other than the author.Do you care whether Anne's petticoat was taffeta or some other material?Do you care if Anne went to the Tower in the early morning or early mid-morning (and let's spend a few pages debating this, shall we)? Honestly, the tedium becomes so remarkably boring that I ended up skipping through it.Her former lover's multiple poems about their failed love?WHO CARES???

Finally, the last chapter cites a bunch of Anne Boleyn ghost sightings through the ages.Good lord.From well-researched to garbage about ghosts and shades?

Don't buy this book, you'll just waste your time and make your eyes sore from all your eye rolling.Very disappointed, won't bother with Weir's other stuff. ... Read more

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Chapters: Egon Wellesz, Hans Keller, Eric Blom, Henry George Farmer, Brian Hinton, Humphrey Searle, Judith Weir, Howard Ferguson, Watkins Shaw, Eric Sams, Simon Frith, David Skinner, Stanley Sadie, Tim Rishton, Alan Tyson, Ernest Warburton, Thurston Dart, Peter Stadlen, John Deathridge, Cuthbert Girdlestone, Curtis Price, Giles Brindley, Denis Stevens, Ralph Dunstan, Arthur Morris Jones, Percy M. Young, Henry Raynor, Godfrey Edward Pellew Arkwright, Geoffrey Chew, Denis Arnold, Daniel Leech-Wilkinson, James Tyler, Arthur Hutchings, George Farquhar Graham. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 109. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Egon Joseph Wellesz (21 October 1885 9 November 1974) was an Austrian-born British composer, teacher and musicologist; a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg, and an eminent scholar of Byzantine music. Wellesz studied under Arnold Schoenberg - purportedly his first private pupil - as well as Guido Adler, who founded the musicological institute in Vienna and was a leading editor of the Austrian Denkmaler. These dual influences shaped much of his musical and scholarly life. In 1913, Wellesz embarked upon a lifelong interest in Byzantine music. Wellesz left Austria for England in the wake of the Anschluss more specifically, Wellesz was in Amsterdam at the time by good fortune, to hear his orchestral piece Prosperos Beschwörungen conducted by Bruno Walter on that day. Wrote nine symphonies and an equal number of string quartets, the former starting, in 1945, only with his arrival in England and the latter series of works spread throughout his life. Also wrote much other music including operas of which Die Bakchantinnen was revived and recorded a few years ago; an octet with the same instrumentation as Schubert's, piano and violin concertos (one of each, and a suite for viol...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1141488 ... Read more

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Word count: 1320. ... Read more

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Violin duos inspired by the transatlantic flow of musical ideas from the British Isles to North America and back again. 11 minutes. ... Read more