The Six Wives of Henry VIII

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir  643 pp.

I started reading this mistakenly thinking it was the book that the 1970 PBS series by the same name was taken from. But the series predated the book by 20 years. Oh well, my junior high age self loved the series. It's still a pretty comprehensive coverage of Henry and his unfortunate wives: 3 Catherines, 2 Annes, and a Jane. Well over half the book involves the Catherine of Aragon/Ann Boleyn drama which was the longest marital episode in the king's life. There are many details throughout the book that correct common assumptions about the various queens including the discrepancies in Anne Boleyn's birthdate and the fact that she was much older than portrayed in many films. This version is frequently rather dry history interspersed with Henry's philandering, trials, torture, beheadings, and unsuccessful births. I listened to the audiobook read by Simon Prebble.

Bring up the Bodies / Hilary Mantel 410 p.

The sequel to Wolf Hall, and written with equal smoothness.  Both books annoy me and I don't fully understand why.  I suppose it's our main character, Thomas Cromwell himself.  It feels as though we are meant to see him as a higher being than all those around him, but sheesh, he doesn't have a lot of competition.  Yes, he loves his children, dead and living; yes, he doesn't beat his servants, but for this he and Hilary want to give him a medal?  For me he was far too efficient about dispatching Anne and her friends, disgusting though they may have been.  He'll get his comeuppance in part 3, but I doubt it will make me feel any better.

Bring Up the Bodies

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel  410 pp.

This is the sequel to Wolf Hall in which King Henry VIII enlisted Thomas Cromwell's help in divorcing his wife, Queen Mary, to marry Anne Boleyn. Now Henry has grown tired of Anne and has become enamored of the young Jane Seymour. Henry now enlists Cromwell's aid in ending his marriage to Anne who has failed to provide him with a male heir. Cromwell succeeds in finding women who bear witness to Anne's infidelity and men who "confess" to having affairs with her. The end result is multiple executions, including the beheading of Anne. The title of this book does not refer those who were executed. The phrase "bring up the bodies" was used in trials and means "bring in the prisoners." As in Wolf Hall the story centers around Cromwell and his actions during that period. The author portrays Anne as an arrogant and frequently unpleasant woman which makes Henry a more sympathetic character than in most novels about his marriage to the second queen. Mantel intends to make a trilogy about Thomas Cromwell but I don't know when the third book is being released.

I liked Bring Up the Bodies much better than Wolf Hall. This time Mantel toned down the use of pronouns and didn't leave you wondering which "he" was speaking as in the first book. I'll have to wait and see how the third book is.

Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel  532 pp.

In the 1500s Thomas Cromwell was of lowborn birth, the son of a blacksmith who beat him often and viciously. Thomas left home as a teen and traveled to the continent to fight as a mercenary, ultimate traveling throughout the Europe of the time, learning multiple languages, and studying law. He became an assistant to Lord Chancellor Cardinal Wolsey and, upon Wolsey's death, became one of Henry VIII's trusted advisors. Cromwell played and important part in the negotiations involving the king's attempts to divorce Queen Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn and the later difficulties with Thomas More's refusal to acknowledge Anne as queen. Cromwell's rise to power and riches are the main subject of this novel.

It's unusual to have a book that focuses on someone other than Henry, his queens, and heirs. This book is packed with an overabundance of characters which makes the conversations confusing at times especially in the audiobook version. It is sometimes hard to know who exactly is speaking when "he said" is used again and again. The title is also a bit misleading since Wolf Hall is not the home of Cromwell but the residence of the family of young Jane Seymour, a lady in waiting at court, and future wife of Henry VIII. Jane plays only a small part in this book. However, the sequel to this book is about the downfall of Anne Boleyn and rise of Jane Seymour. The author won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for this book in 2009.