Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, 604 pages.

I read this when it came out, around ten years ago already, and enjoyed it immensely. This time, I decided to listen to the audio, and let the narrator figure out who was speaking. Thomas Cromwell, born the son of a blacksmith, flees his abusive father, becomes a soldier, then a merchant, lawyer, and eventually a member of the king's council.
The most common complaint I have heard about the three books in this series is that Mantel structures the text in such a way that sometimes (or always, depending on who you are talking to) it is difficult to determine which character is speaking (as an addendum, I did not notice Linda's post about this same book until right after I hit publish). Simon Slater, narrator of the Mantel audiobooks, does a tremendous job giving unique voices to each of the large cast of characters. So if you had that particular problem with the books, listen to the wonderful audio. It's all on Overdrive (or on CD).
A remarkable first book in a truly remarkable series.

The Mirror & the Light

The Mirror & the Light / Hilary Mantel, 757 p.

The third and mercifully final volume of the trilogy which begins with Wolf Hall followed by Bring up the Bodies.  After nearly 2,000 pages of the life of Thomas Cromwell, a commoner who rose to the heights of power during the reign of Henry VIII, I still can't understand why - why he was chosen as the subject for such an extraordinarily ambitious project, and why the books seem to have resonated with so many readers.  It's perfectly true that the writing is excellent and demonstrates a fantastic degree of research.  Cromwell was surrounded by sociopaths and backstabbers.  He was no sociopath, but he was rapacious for power and wealth, and he didn't hesitate to imprison and execute when he felt it beneficial, both to him and to the kingdom.  If he occasionally felt qualms about doing so only makes him more guilty.  Henry could (legitimately, I think) plead insanity; Cromwell has no such excuse.  I suppose he is the new European: capitalist, Calvinist, rational, and very cold. 

The Mirror and the Light

The Mirror and the Light (Thomas Cromwell Trilogy #3) by Hilary Mantel  784 pp.

This book was a long time in coming. The first installment, Wolf Hall came out in 2009 and Bringing up the Bodies was published in 2012. Possibly the reason for the delay is the length of this final installment. It brings the total pages of the trilogy to over 1700 pages. This part of the fictionalized life of Thomas Cromwell begins with the beheading of King Henry VIII's second wife Anne Boleyn and Henry's immediate marriage to Jane Seymour. Cromwell, the king's most trusted adviser quickly rose in rank in Henry's Cabinet, eventually rising to the office of  Lord Privy Seal, given membership in the Order of the Garter, and named the first Earl of Essex. However, Cromwell had many enemies in the king's court with many resenting Cromwell's common background. They ultimately led to his downfall and execution with Henry blaming Cromwell for his unfortunate marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. Of the three books I liked this one the best. It goes into much more detail of Cromwell's personal life and beliefs. While it is helpful to read the first two, this volume could be read as a stand alone since there are flashbacks to events earlier in Cromwell's life. I listened to the audiobook which is very well performed by Ben Miles and clocks in at a hefty 38+ hours.

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.

The Princes of Ireland

The Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga by Edward Rutherford  350 pp. (estimated)

I didn't realize this was an abridged audiobook version when I selected it. Based on the number of discs I'm estimating it at less than half the pages of the print version. This saga spans eleven centuries, beginning with the love story of Connell and Deirdre during the Pagan times of the High Kings of Tara and going through the English takeover of Ireland during the reign of Henry VIII. Along the way there are battles with Vikings, the creation of the Book of Kells, Druids, monks, illuminated manuscripts, tribal chieftains, rebels, intrigue and a rich interweaving of history with characters true to their place and time. Rutherford takes historical detail and enlivens it with the stories of memorable people, both real and fictional. To be honest, I don't know if I would have tackled the lengthy print version but I'm disappointed that this audio version was an abridgment.

Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, 532 pages

Mantel offers a detailed and fascinating fictional account of Henry VIII's long crusade to divorce his first wife, Katherine, and marry Anne Boleyn, as seen through the eyes of the king's advisor Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell comes across as an intelligent and fairly modern man, willing to give more credence to the opinions of women and religious heretics than most of his counterparts. Something about him also reminds me a bit of a spider, delicately weaving a web of influence around him, and allowing him incredible power for a man who was born a son of an abusive blacksmith.

A couple problems I had with this book: First of all, most of the characters are men. This isn't a problem in itself, but when you have several of them in a single scene, and each is referred to variously by his title, nickname, surname, and first name, as well as "he" or "him," it becomes REALLY  hard to figure out who's saying what. Eventually, it becomes obvious which "him" is Cromwell, but still... it's not easy to keep these conversations straight. My second beef is simply the same problem I have with most historical fiction that features real people: I just don't know where the historical ends and the fiction begins. I'd like for it to be clearer, though I realize I'm just going to have to accept the ambiguity if I'm reading realistic historical fiction. Which I probably will when I pick up Bring Up the Bodies. I just hope it doesn't take 7 weeks to read like this one did.

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.