In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII’s court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king’s favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe … most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum.
Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death.
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No one creates a world, both outside and inside the head of a character, like Hilary Mantel. This book illuminated Henry VIII’s age, so frequently caricatured as nothing but about the Reformation and an eccentric narcissist, into a textured longue duree understanding of the genesis of modern Europe.
BEST. HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK. EVER. I have read twice and will read again.
Terrible dry reading
Started, but couldn’t finish.
Fascinating history. Read when you want something meaty.
I enjoy’d this book from page 1 to the end
This is a bold and ambitious novel that took me 3 tries to read–but I’m glad I tried that third time. I’ve seen other reviews that mention how difficult it is to read. Part of the difficulty, I think, is that the book is written in the third person (“he”) but focalized almost exclusively through Cromwell (as in, the camera is on his shoulder and the narrative voice is like Cromwell’s speaking voice–wry and shrewdly observant, laced with zeugma and understatement). At times this creates some peculiar grammar. For example, Mantel uses the pronoun “he” to refer to both Cromwell and King Henry, or both Cromwell and Thomas More in the same sentence. But once I became used to having to reread paragraphs to figure out which “he” was saying or doing what, I was drawn wholly into the story. Mantel’s world building is as complete and elaborate as (dare I say) Rowling’s for Harry Potter–and Mantel’s breadth of knowledge is awe-inspiring. Yet because Cromwell’s subjectivity is so complete, and the events are always filtered through his sensibilities, I never felt I was being served a history lesson. If you’ve watched THE TUDORS, you’ll find all the echoes of vengeance and desire and willfulness and conniving. I’ll read the next.
It’s one of the best books I’ve read.
Amazing insight
This is an amazing history; so well written and compelling.
I loved the first of the Cromwell trilogy and am eagerly awaiting the last. Regardless of the historical accuracy, Mantell is a skilled writer. Each sentence is a joy. It’s also unputdownable. It was hard to remember I live in the 21st century so realistic is the world of the Tudors that Mantell creates. Can’t recommend this enough. And there are two more after it!
What a book. I read almost nothing in first-person, and certainly not historical fiction, but Hilary Mantel is such a rich and skiller writer that she pulls it off with aplomb, and this approach gives the narrative such a great amount of propulsion which simply drags you through the story at an almighty pace. A real tour de force.
Fascinating look into Henry VIII from another perspective.
Brilliantly researched and written. Even though it is fiction, this book seems very real, showing how life in the time of Henry VIII was lived by both great and small.
Very interesting – an very entertaining way to learn some important history.
A little “thick” in spots, but overall an enjoyable, if lengthy, read.
One of the best of all time historical fiction books built on a foundation of someone’s real life and the historical beings who were responsible for events. First volume of a two-volume set.
Best piece of historical fiction about the period I have read, but if she doesn’t complete the promised third book I’m going to kidnap her until she does. I loved one of her earlier books, A Place of Greater Safety about the relationship between Robespierre, Danton, and Desmoulins, and the evolution of the French Revolution from high ideals to terror.
Great Book, read anything of her’s
An outstanding read, marred only by occasionally opaque syntax.