It isn't easy to blow the dust off five centuries of history and somehow make the period and its people relevant, but British historian Alison Weir has built a solid literary reputation doing just that -- fleshing out the intrigues and personalities of the Tudor era. Her latest book focuses on Anne Boleyn and her dramatic fall and eventual execution.

Anne Boleyn was born in about 1507, the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, a diplomat, and the niece of powerful business magnate Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. She made her first appearance in the English court in 1521, and although she wasn't beautiful, she had that certain magnetism that caught the attention of King Henry VIII.

Henry, who had grown tired of his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was intrigued with Anne and wanted her to become his mistress. She refused, which set in motion the king's departure from the Catholic Church and his establishment of the Church of England so that he could arrange a divorce and marry Anne.

Anne and Henry were secretly married in January of 1533. The following May, the marriage was announced. Within three months, Henry's passion for Anne had cooled and became even more so after the birth of a daughter (the future Queen Elizabeth) that September. When a stillborn son was born in January 1536, Henry had his wife arrested and brought to the Tower of London, where she was charged with high treason and eventually executed.

"The Lady in the Tower" presents the full array of evidence of the charges brought against Anne Boleyn, as well as some fascinating new historical details uncovered by Weir's meticulous research.

With Weir's marvelous gift for storytelling, the characters involved in this ill-fated relationship seem to leap off the page. Anne Boleyn becomes more than just a name in a history book; she becomes a living, breathing woman.

©2010 King Features Synd., Inc.