The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, in May 1536 was unprecedented in English history. It was sensational in its day, and has exerted endless fascination over the minds of historians, novelists, dramatists, poets, artists and film-makers ever since. Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London on 2 May 1536, and tried and found guilty of high treason on 15 May. Her supposed crimes included adultery with five men, one her own brother, and plotting the King's death. She was executed on 19 May 1536. Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading up to her arrest. Was it Henry VIII who, estranged from Anne, instructed Master Secretary Thomas Cromwell to fabricate evidence to get rid of her so that he could marry Jane Seymour? Or did Cromwell, for reasons of his own, construct a case against Anne and her faction, and then present compelling evidence before the King? Following the coronation of her daughter Elizabeth I in 1558, Anne was venerated as a heroine of the English Reformation. Over the centuries, her dramatic story has inspired many artistic and cultural works and has remained ever-vivid in England's popular memory. Never before has there been a book devoted entirely to Anne Boleyn's fall. Alison Weir has reassessed the evidence and created a richly researched and detailed portrait of the last days of one of the most influential and important figures in English history.

About the Author

Alison Weir was born in London and now resides in Surrey. Before becoming a published author in 1989, she was a civil servant, then a housewife and mother. From 1991 to 1997, whilst researching and writing books, she ran a school for children with learning difficulties before taking up writing full-time. Her books include The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Lancaster and York, Children of England , Elizabeth the Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine , Mary, Queen of Scots, Henry VIII: King and Court, Isabella and, most recently Katherine Swynford.

Prizes

A compelling story of the last days of one of history's most charismatic, controversial and tragic heroines - Anne Boleyn.

Reviews

Premier popular historian Weir (Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster) delivers a most impressively researched book about the last days of Anne Boleyn. Imprisoned, tried for treason (she was accused of adultery, incest, and plotting to murder the king), and beheaded, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England, lived an ultimately tragic life that has continued to fascinate people for centuries. Weir examines Boleyn's last few months in depth by concentrating primarily on contemporary primary sources. Referring first to them and then to other historians' research, Weir is able to offer a fresh perspective on the end of Anne Boleyn's life, dispelling long-held facts as myths, refuting some theories of modern historians, and even correcting some of her own previous research. What emerges is the most complete and compelling portrait available of Anne Boleyn in her last days. Weir's impeccable research and gift for storytelling help readers understand the fall of one of the most influential queens in English history and the world of Tudor England. VERDICT A superb example of a nonfiction page-turner that history lovers cannot afford to miss.-Troy Reed, Southeast Reg. Lib., Gilbert, AZ Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Rejecting as myth that Henry VIII, desirous of a son and a new queen, asked his principal adviser Thomas Cromwell to find criminal grounds for executing Anne Boleyn, the prolific British historian Weir (The Six Wives of Henry VIII) concludes that Cromwell himself, seeing Anne as a political rival, instigated "one of the most astonishing and brutal coups in English history," skillfully framing her and destroying her faction. Ably weighing the reliability of contemporary sources and theories of other historians, Weir also claims that though perhaps sexually experienced, Anne was technically a virgin before sleeping with Henry. Anne was also, Weir posits, a passionate radical evangelical, with considerable influence over Henry regarding Church reform. Weir wonders if Anne's childbearing history points to her being Rh negative and thus incapable of bearing a second living child. 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. 15 pages of color photos. (Dec.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.