‘Anne Boleyn’s Letter from the Tower’ by Sandra Vasoli

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction – History

Published: 2015

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

Who thought it was possible to write an entire book on a single letter? Well, Sandra Vasoli manages it, and what a brilliant book as well! I have never quite been sure what to make of this letter said to have written by Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII from the Tower of London on 6 May 1536. Many historians question the authenticity of the letter, saying it’s a fake.

Vasoli follows the track of the letter through the years, tracing it from Anne Boleyn through Thomas Cromwell, and the Cottons to its storage in the British Library. I’m now fairly convinced that the letter is in fact genuine! Vasoli’s descriptions of how the letter came to survive are compelling and based on solid research. It’s a hot debate between Anne Boleyn historians whether the letter is genuine and there are lots of different opinions as to what happened and who wrote the letter.

It’s concise and well-written, short chapters easy to delve in and out of. The letter is reproduced in full and a photograph of the copy in the British Library so you can get a real sense of it. There is also a quick overview of Anne’s life, and Cromwell’s rise and fall. The analysis is thoughtful and examined from both sides of the argument, which is the mark of a good historian.

I’d really recommend this book for any Anne Boleyn’s historians, or Tudor historians, for a masterclass in analysis of a letter, and how important context and provenance is. It’s a brilliant little guide to one of my favourite documents related to Anne Boleyn.