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Summary: A fascinating, fictionalized, first person account....
Review: 'The Lady in the Tower' is a fascinating, fictionalized first person account of the life of Anne Boleyn, doomed second wife of King Henry VIII. The book begins with Anne's childhood as the youngest lady-in-waiting to Mary, young bride of France's Louis XII and sister of Henry VIII. Anne enjoys her life in France until her older sister, also named Mary, tarnishes the Boleyn name with her numerous liaisons with gentlemen of the court, including the man who succeeds Louis as king, Francis I. Anne and her sister are sent home to England, where Mary becomes Henry's mistress and the Boleyn family becomes much more significant because of this. Anne becomes a lady-in-waiting to Henry's wife Katherine, who has fallen out of the King's favor due to her inability to produce a surviving son. Henry is now looking seriously for a new, younger wife, and he finds the perfect woman--Anne. After a courtship that lasts several years, mainly because of the difficulty involved with divorcing one of Europe's most important women, Henry's marriage is finally annulled, and he and Anne marry. Eight months later, she gives birth to a healthy baby--girl. Anne is enthralled with her new daughter, but also dreads her husband's reaction. Henry is upset--after all, he has married this woman mainly to get a son--but decides that this new daughter, Elizabeth, is rather charming, and he and Anne still have plenty of time to have sons. But Anne never does deliver a live son. She has also failed as Henry's wife in other ways: she refuses to accept his dalliances with her ladies-in-waiting, for instance, and is very quick-tempered. What's more, Henry has found another woman, one who is meek, gentle, young, and healthy--and about to become his third wife. Henry does not care to got through the hassle of another divorce, though, so he has only one choice: death. Anne is arrested under trumped-up charges of adultery (including with her own brother), and is sentenced to death by beheading. As the book is written in the first person, we get to hear the thoughts she has a few hours before her execution. Most are of her life with Henry and of her daughter, who will grow up to become Queen Elizabeth I--a fact which, had Henry foreseen it, may have spared Anne's life. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves Anne Boleyn, Jean Plaidy, or both.
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Summary: Fabulous Rendition of Anne Boleyn
Review: Ann Boleyn was such an interesting person. i really enjoyed how jean plaidy showed her as a strong woman who was denied her first love due to the king's affections rather than some wretchedly ambitious, spoiled, childish brat. i have also read "the other boleyn girl" and this book was much more historically accurate than that one. the sex is also not as g raphic. i thuroughly appreciated this book.
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Summary: Excellent Choice for Rebublication
Review: Anne Boleyn is different. She is the exact opposite of what perfection is. She has a sixth finger, a mole on her neck, dark features, and she is thin. She grows up at her father's estate of Hever, they is transported to the French court. There she learns about life and human nature. When she comes home to England, she discovers this knowledge can lead to power and queenship. On her long trek to second wife of Henry VIII, she changes the course of English (and world) history, displaces several good people, and makes a lot of enemies. Her victory is short-lived, as her enemies soon change the victory around.I am so glad that they decided to reprint Plaidy's work! She is an excellent author that deserves to be read. This book was a good choice to start with, because it is so fun to read even if you think you know the story!
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Summary: The Queen of a Thousand Days
Review: Anne Boleyn is probably one of the most fascinating women in English history. Here, Jean Plaidy brings her to life with a spectacular first-person narrative about who Anne Boleyn really was.
The book begins in the Tower of London; Anne has been convicted of adultery and treason and is waiting for her execution. She then revisits her days at the French and English courts, being courted by the King, and her eventual marriage to him and the birth of her daughter, Elizabeth. Anne tells her story with simplicity, recounting her life at a Court that was filled with seductions, intrigues, murder, and plotting.
The story of the Queen of a Thousand Days is recounted here with unbelievable historical accuracy, as well as remarkable insight into those events which were to shape the course of history. Although it may seem that there is too much history infused into this book, it is necessary because it gives shape to all that these characters say and do. Anne grows from a frightened little girl in the retinue of Princess Marguerite to a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katharine, and finally to Queen of England, seemingly without effort on her part.
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Summary: Not what I expected....
Review: How can a book on Anne Boleyn possibly be boring?? She's arguably one of the most intriguing characters in Tudor history. That said, this book doesn't do her justice. The first 60 pages or so are devoted to lengthy descriptions of minor (or non-existent) characters, digressions, historical notes, and the like. The writing, sad to say, is dry, boring, and generally unappealing. The rising action takes SO long, by the time Jean Plaidy finally decides to introduce a plot, you've lost interest. Don't waste your money on this book. It really isn't worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring.
Review: How could anyone make Anne Boleyn boring? I wouldn't have thought it possible, but that was before I read this sorry excuse for a book. Poorly written. Terrible characterization. Even for a novel, research is sketchy. Overall, the thing reads like she picked up an Alison Weir, skimmed through it, end of research. I would give this book two stars for effort, but I find Anne Boleyn to be one of the most fascinating personalities of Tudor England, and this butchering of her story sweeps away any sympathy I might have had.
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Summary: Honestly, now, boring? I don't think so!
Review: I am having trouble understanding why people's complaints with this book are the fact that its "boring." I can name other Anne Boleyn novels that are so much more boring then this. While Jean Plaidy's work are aged, written over 50 years ago, the story of Anne Boleyn is ageless and a true drama even from the plain textbook.
It's been a long time since I've read it, but it was the first Anne Boleyn novel, so maybe that is why I remember it so fondly. The novel opens with Anne in service to Queen Mary, then Queen Claude in France. Then countinues from playing a cruel game on Henry in the garden pretending not to know who he is and have a lengthy conversation with him criticising the English court and praising that of the French, to her end on May 19th, 1536.
A novel that paints a vivid painting of Tudorian life, but a better picture of Anne Boleyn's true charcter. Passionate about everything, arragont and ambitious.
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Summary: Disappointing.
Review: I love reading fiction based on the Tudor period, so I bought this without thinking. Not a wise move on my part. The first chapter was somewhat interesting, but overall, this is not a well-written book. I'm sure Plaidy's research was substantial, but facts are not woven into the story artfully, but rather thrown at the reader at random intervals. (One almost got the impression that she laid out a sequence of facts, and connected them in a sort of written dot-to-dot exercise.) I also didn't find this portrayal of Anne Boleyn very convincing. I wouldn't try another Plaidy book.
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Summary: Good Book
Review: I really like this book. It's so interesting and well-written.
Rating:
Summary: Not Impressed
Review: I was not impressed with Jean Plaidy's "The Lady in the Tower." Before reading this one, I had indulged in three other works of historial fiction; the first being, "The Other Boleyn Girl," "The Queen's Fool," and the third being "I, Elizabeth." Maybe by contrast of the excellent writing in the three books mentioned above, Jean Plaidy's book seemed less enjoyable. I have not bought any of her other books due to my less than enjoyable experience with the first book.
For starters, I'm a stickler with errors in books. Spelling and grammatical errors really bug me, as I am under the impression the book itself has been edited by professionals by the time it hits the shelves. This book is chock full of mistakes.
The story is the same story you've heard before if you've read this kind of period piece. Jean Plaidy offers nothing 'extra,' so if you know the story already, don't even bother. It is simply written, and very dull.
Jean Plaidy doesn't do the story of Anne Boelyn justice. The only thing this book has going for it is the subject matter: a remarkable and intriguing young woman. Unfortunately, the story of Anne Boelyn can not save this book from the disaster of a less than stellar author.
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