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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A page turner good read.
Exceptional historical fiction.
Excellent character development making each historical figure come alive. Informative and a must read for Anglophiles
Simply the finest historical fiction I have ever read. The research Mantel must have done is unimaginable. Her ability to write in the first person makes the story compelling. Read this, and then the sequel, Bring Up the Bodies.
Excellent scholarship and thorough research,
yet easy to read. The Tudor period was brilliant and oppressive, tragic and inspiring all at once. How England went from the Middle Ages into the early modern period is a story that never fails to fascinate. The life of Thomas Cromwell was particularly interesting to me as I am directly descended from his sister Katherine (thank you Ancestry.com)
Masterful
GREAt piece of historical fiction.
Well written. Kept me interested. I like good Tudor literatures
The author is known for her authenticity when weaving a story. It made me re-think what I thought I knew about Thomas Cromwell. Very absorbing.
Haunting – 12 months after the initial read
One of the best books I have read this decade. Full stop.
Superior construction of possible history
As other reviewers say, it’s hard to get into this book. The question is, to whom does the third person pronoun apply this time. Eventually, the logic appears, and from that point the book is compelling. Highly recommend.
Wolf Hall takes a little time to get used to the play-like format, but for anyone interested in the perceived lives of these historical characters it is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the era.
Written in second person – difficult to follow and thus impossible to get into this book
Difficult to follow
couldn’t finish
Great historical fiction!
The best of the Trilogy and the only one really worth reading.
This is a novel based on fact, and s detail oriented in history, with the authors own interpretations and imaginings of situations, given the possible available facts. Absorbing, and very well written.