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29th out of 220 books
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The Lady in the Tower (Queens of England #4)
by
Jean Plaidy
One of history’s most complex and alluring women comes to life in this classic novel by the
legendary Jean Plaidy.
Young Anne Boleyn was not beautiful but she was irresistible, capturing the hearts of kings and commoners alike. Daughter of an ambitious country lord, Anne was sent to France to learn sophistication, and then to court to marry well and raise the family’s fortu...more
legendary Jean Plaidy.
Young Anne Boleyn was not beautiful but she was irresistible, capturing the hearts of kings and commoners alike. Daughter of an ambitious country lord, Anne was sent to France to learn sophistication, and then to court to marry well and raise the family’s fortu...more
Paperback, 393 pages
Published
January 21st 2009
by Three Rivers Press
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It's been almost 10 years since I read this. In the interim, I've read more current novels by countless authors about doomed Queen Anne Boleyn. However, re-reading this has solidified my belief that no one has blended with documented factual information a better fictional account of Anne's rise and fall then Plaidy.
This is a smooth and easy read with good characterizations and dialog. It's impossible for anyone to know how Anne really came off personality-wise, but novels written ...more
This is a smooth and easy read with good characterizations and dialog. It's impossible for anyone to know how Anne really came off personality-wise, but novels written ...more
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So often Anne Boleyn is painted the villian. This novel is fiction but I love the perspective the story is being told from. Anne is opinionated, educated, erudite and mysterious. I never believed she was an opportunist like her father, the Earl of Rochford. It is highly probably the rest of the Boleyn children were strongly encouraged to increase their status from parental pressure. In this depiction, Henry is the pursuer, and Anne holds him off, not only because she dislikes and blames him...more
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I really wanted to give this book more than one star. It had the makings of good material, the story of Anne Boleyn from Anne Boleyn's point of view. However, there were major problems I saw with the story that made it one of the few books I read that have me severely questioning my policy of finishing a book I have started, no matter how painful it is.
1.) Repetitive: The story is horribly repetitive. It seems like entire paragraphs where Anne is describing her sixth finger, her adm...more
1.) Repetitive: The story is horribly repetitive. It seems like entire paragraphs where Anne is describing her sixth finger, her adm...more
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I thought it was very good. I enjoyed how the story was told as a memory from the night before she died so throught the story she would give her own opinion on her past actions. It will absolutely keep me coming back for more Jean Plaidy.
As a young girl I discovered Jean Plaidy on the shelf of my public library one summer and read them voraciously. It was my first encounter with historical fiction. It was a thrill to see her revived by the publisher recently, with all new editions of her Queens series.
Today this genre is crowded with many great authors but Plaidy will always be a cornerstone. Her writing style if more staid and factual based than someone like Philippa Gregory (who loves a touch of dramatic authorial l...more
Today this genre is crowded with many great authors but Plaidy will always be a cornerstone. Her writing style if more staid and factual based than someone like Philippa Gregory (who loves a touch of dramatic authorial l...more
Fascinating and intuitive first person narrative of the life of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's take on Anne, especially the decision to write the novel as if Anne had written it while imprisoned in the tower before her execution. It is laid out in a chronological, conversational, and confessional manner; as a way of looking back over the span of her life, to determine where she made her fatal mistakes, and how she may have anticipate...more
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I was disappointed that this novel wasn't more engaging. I didn't know much about Anne Boleyn (except what I knew from The Tudors) before I read this.
It started off pretty well, but by the time Anne has decided that she will accept Henry VII's advances, the story just dragged on. I understand that the author was trying to stay true to reality (-ish) but I think some events could have been fast-forwarded over.
And it was very confusing trying to remember who was whom and ho...more
It started off pretty well, but by the time Anne has decided that she will accept Henry VII's advances, the story just dragged on. I understand that the author was trying to stay true to reality (-ish) but I think some events could have been fast-forwarded over.
And it was very confusing trying to remember who was whom and ho...more
This was a great book! The way it was written in first person made it 1,000 times more interesting than just reading a historical account of her life. I was completely hooked and couldn't stop. In the end I was a bit melancholy to think that all this occurred a half-century ago in England. This stuff is so Medieval - and it's hard to believe that England was so backward.
My favorite of the Jean Plaidy books, which I am rapidly falling in love with, but that could just be because Anne Boleyn is portrayed as a serious badass. I did some Wikipedia research after I finished the book and, admittedly, Plaidy takes a lot of liberty with the character, but it fits very well with what's already historically accepted.
Mary Campbell
is currently reading it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction-medieval-and-tud
I bought this book via Audible, having just finished listening to A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES in preparation for AN ECHO IN THE BONE. This is my fifth Anne Boleyn book -- the only one told in the first person, the only one beginning in her early childhood, and the second in which it is related that (1) her mother dies young, and (2) she has the nail of a sixth finger and a mole that her "B" pendant hides.
At this point in the book, Anne is lady to Queen Mary (Tudor) of France,...more
At this point in the book, Anne is lady to Queen Mary (Tudor) of France,...more
I love all of Jean Plaidy's books I have read up to this point. I feel she brings historical characters to life and makes you feel as though these could be anyone or that any person could go through the same pitfalls and triumphs as the historical figures featured in each book. Worth reading.
I have read several Anne Boleyn novels and other books about her and King Henry's wives. This is the first book I have read by Jean Plaidy. It is written in first person and for the most part I think she captured Anne's voice. It was a very interesting time full of many bigger than life people and Plaidy does a good job of introducing these people. Plaidy also gave a real feel for the time including some things about the Reformation. You come away sympathizing with Anne which is not a bad thing....more
I really like Jean Plaidy's books. This is the first one that I read and it got me hooked on her books and on Henry VIII! I cannot stop reading books about Henry VIII and I thank Jean Plaidy's Lady in the Tower for getting me hooked! Good book but honestly nothing absolutely amazing!
This book tells the story of Anne Boleyn's life. It is reminiscent of "I, Elizabeth" by Rosalind Miles. Both are told in first person. Both present intimate looks at the sordidness and excesses of court life. I would recommend it to anyone interested in European royal lineage.
This is one of my oldest non-kid-lit books; given to me by my grandmother - or at least loaned to me by her, and I kept it. This book is what got me interested in Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, and Tudor history.
This is my first reread in a long time; I find it holds up well.
This is my first reread in a long time; I find it holds up well.
I was glad to get a new to me perspective on Anne Boleyn. Everything I had read recently, even the book I, Elizabeth was kind of negative about Anne. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I consider her to be a really sympathetic character and I’ve always felt like everything that happened to her was a real shame. It amazes me when I realize how little so many people know about this woman who vastly changed the course of history. Her impact on what happened in England is ginormous – could any ...more
Because you enjoy historical fiction and also liked The Other Boleyn Girl, you might also want to read a similar story, this time focusing on Mary’s sister Anne’s life. Plaidy has a way of instantly drawing her readers to a past life.
Accurate historical fiction! This woman writes with clarity and understanding of the subject she is writing about and manages to mingle fictional stories with historical facts in a way that Phillipa Gregory does not! READ HER BOOKS!
Amblingbooks.com
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
available-on-audio,
historical-fiction
"Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama." - New York Times
Listen to The Lady in the Tower on your smartphone.
Listen to The Lady in the Tower on your smartphone.
Definitely not as good as books by Philippa Gregory, but still a decent read. I liked the perspective Jean Plaidy took on Anne Boleyn's life, and I espeically liked reading of Anne's early life.
So far, I'm LOVING this book and if it pans out the way I'm hopeful it will, I'll purchase the rest of the "Queens of England" series of Jean Plaidy. This book is about Anne Boleyn, written from her perspective while in the Tower of London awaiting her execution, looking back over her life trying to figure out where things went wrong for her.
I finished this book today and can't wait to get started on another in the series. The author completely captured Anne's voice, and ...more
I finished this book today and can't wait to get started on another in the series. The author completely captured Anne's voice, and ...more
I enjoyed this book as I have always been interested in Anne Boleyn. I've always wondered what she was really like. Did she scheme and plot to get the eye of the King, and to get rid of the Queen, or did she just get caught up in events? Jean Plaidy's portrayal of Anne was somewhere in the middle. She didn't seek the attention of the King, but once she had it, she certainly became ambitious. It will be interesting to read "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory and compare.
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Ann Boleyn came alive for me like never before in this book. Her mannerisms, relationships, hopes, moods, losses all took on meaning for me. Plaidy tells these tales as well as, or better than anyone. That one can sympathize, become annoyed with, and ultimately find themselves relating to the life and times of any British queen from 500 years ago is startling to me..Plaidy has the gift of bringing the reader to the protagonist's table, so to speak, and at that point the reader partakes even w...more
Anna
added it
This is the first ever book I read about Queen Anne - An interesting picture of Anne was created in this book - quite different to phillipa gregory's
This book was the first Jean Plaidy that I had ever read. It provides a great perspective on Anne Boleyn and got me hooked on the historical fiction genre.
A historical fiction account of Anne Boleyn who married King Henry VII and eventually imprisoned in the Tower of LOndon and eventually beheaded.
I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped. I never truly connected with this Anne; she tells you what she's like and how she feels, but you don't get to see it. However, this is written as a death row confessional, so it makes sense that Anne would tell her story that way. Still very enjoyable, and I'd definitely recommend it. 3.5 stars.
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Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). ...more
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