THE LADY IN THE TOWER: THE FALL OF ANNE BOLEYM

Have anyone read the book by Alison Weir,and want to discuss it. I love the book,and I glad that she examine all sides. Most modern historian just assume that Anne was innocent. However you must consider the time in which she lived in,and what was consider acceptable,and unacceptable back than. So while she might not be consider guilty by today standard, she was consider guilty for that time . What do you think of the book?

I will try to find the book and read it. I have a interest in the tudors being welsh. Ann being the sencond wife and most famous because of her daughter. I will try to get back with you on this.

Alison Weir is a talented (and meticulous) biographer and historian. I have not read that particular book, but I have read The Children of Henry VIII, The Princes in the Tower (a fascinating, and tragic, murder mystery in English history), The Life of Elizabeth I, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, all by Weir. All are a great read. Elizabeth I was brilliant — being an extremely intelligent, strong woman who carefully and intentionally navigated her life in a way where she retained her power; and she did this in a time where the menfolk did not necessarily appreciate the qualities of strength, intelligence and power in their womenfolk. 🙂 Extraordinary.

I have read a book on Anne Boleyn by another biographer (Carolly Erickson, Mistress Anne). From historical accounts, Anne seemed intelligent as well, but more impetuous and emotional, and perhaps this in combination with the path by which she accessed her power led to her unfortunate end. I should check out Weir??s book on Anne.

I highly recommend Eleanor of Aquitaine by Weir. This is an account of another amazing woman from a slightly earlier period. Queen of France, England, and ruler of her ancestral lands, she traveled to the Holy Land in the Second Crusade, was mother to Richard the Lionheart, and proved through her years to be bold, strong minded, a patron of poets and writers, and a well-traveled, capable and resourceful ruler. Fontevrault Abbey is on my list of places to see — to pay my respects to this woman (although the abbey was sacked during the French Revolution and later converted to a prison, it has been restored in more recent times; and while her bones were scattered, she was a patroness of, and favored, this place). Mary Queen of Scots is another interesting figure (although she is one who seems to have gotten played multiple times as a pawn of men in their reach for power or religious struggles [Catholicism vs. Protestantism]).

But I digress! Apologies. 🙂 Thank you for creating this thread. I have not thought about these books in a long time. Is there anything you see Anne could have done different to keep her noggin off the block?