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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
I've spent a lot of time reliving the final days of Anne Boleyn, and this book provides an intricate understanding of the world Anne lived in and her impact on culture.
emotional
informative
slow-paced
My historical beef with Thomas Cromwell continues, from age 12 to 26.
I disliked that bugger then, and I dislike him now.
This was so impactful, and I finished the read continuing to believe that Anne was innocent.
It gave a startling look at the horrible laws and court life of 1500’s England.
Poor Anne, and poor all innocent people who were killed under this time periods ridiculous laws.
I also continue to like George. I know it said some sketchy things about him, but we have to remember that the people that wrote those things hated him and wanted to create a certain image of him in history! (life laugh my Jim Sturgess obsession - where my love of Tudor really began).
Anyways, great read!
I disliked that bugger then, and I dislike him now.
This was so impactful, and I finished the read continuing to believe that Anne was innocent.
It gave a startling look at the horrible laws and court life of 1500’s England.
Poor Anne, and poor all innocent people who were killed under this time periods ridiculous laws.
I also continue to like George. I know it said some sketchy things about him, but we have to remember that the people that wrote those things hated him and wanted to create a certain image of him in history! (life laugh my Jim Sturgess obsession - where my love of Tudor really began).
Anyways, great read!
I, like Alison Weir, have been fascinated by Anne Boleyn since I was a child, and to this day find it quite surprising just how quickly she went from being the Queen of England and Henry's beloved wife, to being executed. So, I was excited to sink my teeth into this book and find out new and interesting facts about the circumstances surrounding the astonishing events that led to the first beheading of a Queen of England.
The Lady in the Tower covers Anne's final days in meticulous detail beginning with Henry's jousting accident in January 1536 up to Anne's execution in May 1536. The final chapter does exceed this time frame through an exploration of Anne's greatest legacy - Elizabeth I. However, the majority of the book is focused on the 4-5 months in 1536 which led to Anne's execution. The focus on this period allows Weir to delve deeper into Anne's case and dissect the evidence carefully to explore HOW and WHY Anne was beheaded.
There's no denying the scope of Weir's research. She draws on a variety of sources, and although her own opinions are clear throughout, she manages to provide a (mostly) balanced analysis. She does become a little too reliant on a select handful of sources at times (particularly the diaries of Chapuys and the 'Spanish Chronicle'), but this is understandable given the gaps and in the sources.
Stylistically, Weir's writing is simple and succinct most of the time, but does have a habit of getting bogged down with exposition. The same points are repeated multiple times and simple concepts or theories are described in unnecessarily meticulous detail. She also has a tendency to make extensive lists of names and family connections that are difficult to follow. It doesn't help that a lot of the names that are dropped are insignificant in the wider story and often aren't mentioned again. Unfortunately, these things do make it a slow (it took me over 3 weeks to get through!) and dry read.
Whilst the depth and breadth of research is the book's greatest strength, I couldn't rate this any higher than 3 stars, because the conclusions drawn are very narrow and, quite frankly, wrong. That Anne was innocent of the charges brought against her is something that nearly all scholars are in agreement with, and this is one conclusion of Weir's that I cannot argue with. However, she is too eager to place sole responsibility for Anne's arrest and execution on Cromwell. Although Cromwell played a huge part in her downfall and made it his mission to destroy Anne for a variety of personal and political reasons, Weir completely strips Henry of any culpability. In fact, she portrays Henry as naive and passive throughout the process as though he was as much a victim of Cromwell's scheming as Anne was. Throughout, Weir seems to suggest that Henry was heartbroken to learn of Anne's crimes and genuinely believed the accusations against her. Therefore, Henry was doing what his conscience compelled him to do and the law required of him. Yet, throughout Anne's arrest and trial, as Weir emphasises throughout, there was a complete lack of evidence for any of the charges brought against her and gaping holes in the narrative that was woven. Why was Henry so quick to believe these accusations when the evidence was so weak? Why did he not allow for a longer investigation and demand more evidence, before sending his wife and the mother of his child, to the scaffold to die? Henry was desperate for a son, tiring of Anne and already dallying with Jane Seymour by the time these events were unfolding. He wasn't as devoted to Anne as Weir suggests and although he may not have been the main player in instigating and building the case against Anne, he sent her to her death as willingly as Cromwell and had just as much (if not more) to gain from doing so.
In addition to Weir's narrow conclusions, I didn't learn anything new about Anne or her fall. The book is focused much more on the individuals around Anne, particularly Cromwell, rather than Anne herself. So for those that are interested in learning more about Anne, this isn't the book for you. Individuals that are unfamiliar with Anne and her final days could learn from reading this. However, it's not presented in a manner engaging enough to keep the interest of someone new to the topic. It's tedious to get through and overloaded with research and information that might be difficult to follow for those that have no context. As for those like myself that are already informed on the topic, it doesn't offer anything new. It's not very insightful and academically speaking, is written to a standard that I'd consider to be of a postgraduate level. Therefore, it's difficult to say who the target audience for this book is since it's not very accessible for new readers but is too simplistic and shallow for those that have an academic interest in the topic or are already somewhat informed on it.
Overall, The Lady in the Tower, has its strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn't describe it as an academic break through, but it is well-researched and seeks to rectify theories that have previously been proposed which lack evidence (e.g. that Anne's last miscarriage before her death was that of a deformed son). Sadly, the lack of insight and dull reading experience I had means that it came out at an average 3 star rating for me.
The Lady in the Tower covers Anne's final days in meticulous detail beginning with Henry's jousting accident in January 1536 up to Anne's execution in May 1536. The final chapter does exceed this time frame through an exploration of Anne's greatest legacy - Elizabeth I. However, the majority of the book is focused on the 4-5 months in 1536 which led to Anne's execution. The focus on this period allows Weir to delve deeper into Anne's case and dissect the evidence carefully to explore HOW and WHY Anne was beheaded.
There's no denying the scope of Weir's research. She draws on a variety of sources, and although her own opinions are clear throughout, she manages to provide a (mostly) balanced analysis. She does become a little too reliant on a select handful of sources at times (particularly the diaries of Chapuys and the 'Spanish Chronicle'), but this is understandable given the gaps and in the sources.
Stylistically, Weir's writing is simple and succinct most of the time, but does have a habit of getting bogged down with exposition. The same points are repeated multiple times and simple concepts or theories are described in unnecessarily meticulous detail. She also has a tendency to make extensive lists of names and family connections that are difficult to follow. It doesn't help that a lot of the names that are dropped are insignificant in the wider story and often aren't mentioned again. Unfortunately, these things do make it a slow (it took me over 3 weeks to get through!) and dry read.
Whilst the depth and breadth of research is the book's greatest strength, I couldn't rate this any higher than 3 stars, because the conclusions drawn are very narrow and, quite frankly, wrong. That Anne was innocent of the charges brought against her is something that nearly all scholars are in agreement with, and this is one conclusion of Weir's that I cannot argue with. However, she is too eager to place sole responsibility for Anne's arrest and execution on Cromwell. Although Cromwell played a huge part in her downfall and made it his mission to destroy Anne for a variety of personal and political reasons, Weir completely strips Henry of any culpability. In fact, she portrays Henry as naive and passive throughout the process as though he was as much a victim of Cromwell's scheming as Anne was. Throughout, Weir seems to suggest that Henry was heartbroken to learn of Anne's crimes and genuinely believed the accusations against her. Therefore, Henry was doing what his conscience compelled him to do and the law required of him. Yet, throughout Anne's arrest and trial, as Weir emphasises throughout, there was a complete lack of evidence for any of the charges brought against her and gaping holes in the narrative that was woven. Why was Henry so quick to believe these accusations when the evidence was so weak? Why did he not allow for a longer investigation and demand more evidence, before sending his wife and the mother of his child, to the scaffold to die? Henry was desperate for a son, tiring of Anne and already dallying with Jane Seymour by the time these events were unfolding. He wasn't as devoted to Anne as Weir suggests and although he may not have been the main player in instigating and building the case against Anne, he sent her to her death as willingly as Cromwell and had just as much (if not more) to gain from doing so.
In addition to Weir's narrow conclusions, I didn't learn anything new about Anne or her fall. The book is focused much more on the individuals around Anne, particularly Cromwell, rather than Anne herself. So for those that are interested in learning more about Anne, this isn't the book for you. Individuals that are unfamiliar with Anne and her final days could learn from reading this. However, it's not presented in a manner engaging enough to keep the interest of someone new to the topic. It's tedious to get through and overloaded with research and information that might be difficult to follow for those that have no context. As for those like myself that are already informed on the topic, it doesn't offer anything new. It's not very insightful and academically speaking, is written to a standard that I'd consider to be of a postgraduate level. Therefore, it's difficult to say who the target audience for this book is since it's not very accessible for new readers but is too simplistic and shallow for those that have an academic interest in the topic or are already somewhat informed on it.
Overall, The Lady in the Tower, has its strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn't describe it as an academic break through, but it is well-researched and seeks to rectify theories that have previously been proposed which lack evidence (e.g. that Anne's last miscarriage before her death was that of a deformed son). Sadly, the lack of insight and dull reading experience I had means that it came out at an average 3 star rating for me.
The performance was interesting, with a mix of accents, but inconsistent. Not as good as her other books, unfortunately.
More of my favorite subject. European History. This is an in-depth look at the last four months of Anne Boleyn's life and the case against her as an adulteress. It was extremely well researched and written. I found myself more sympathetic to Anne than I have ever been before. She often is painted as an extremely hot-headed woman (which she probably was) however this book all but proves that she and the men charged were innocent and possibly the target of Cromwell's political ambition. The evidence against her is non-existent or hearsay and it's obvious that the verdict was decided long before the trial took place
A good point is brought up in that she probably would have gone int obscurity had she not been beheaded and had her daughter not been on of the greatest rulers of England.
A good point is brought up in that she probably would have gone int obscurity had she not been beheaded and had her daughter not been on of the greatest rulers of England.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
informative
reflective
sad
emotional
sad
slow-paced