Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Jun. 26th, 2010 01:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
In WOLF HALL, one of our very best writers brings the opulent, brutal world of the Tudors to bloody, glittering life. It is the backdrop to the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell: lowborn boy, charmer, bully, master of deadly intrigue, and, finally, most powerful of Henry VIII’s courtiers.
Hilary Mantel’s multi-prize winning novel follows the early career of Thomas Cromwell, from humble beginnings as the son of a brutal smith and brewer, to his career as a mercenary on the Continent and then entry into court intrigue as a fixer for Cardinal Wolsey.
It’s a densely researched novel, with Mantel skilfully weaving in what’s known about Cromwell’s life and creating her own version of what is not. The effect is to humanise a man generally viewed by history as a villain – Henry VIII’s hatchet man and the man who pushed the country into the Reformation. What Mantel does particularly well is show Cromwell in counterpoint to other well known people from the period – notably the antagonism between him and Thomas More, his devotion to Wolsey and his friendship with Cranmer. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. Their desperate need for each other and ultimately themselves leaps from the page and has a driving impact on the life of Cromwell himself.
Mantel uses a device of referring to Cromwell as “he” throughout the text, which can be distracting in certain scenes when there is more than one male character as it’s not immediately clear who is being referred to. Although the novel takes a chronological approach to events, there are also flashbacks to earlier events, which can be disorientating.
The sense of period is also a character in its own right, with Mantel recreating the seething troubles of the times, the suspicion and intrigue and the religious fervour. The dirt, poverty, blood and need leaps from the page and makes for a deeply enthralling experience.
The Verdict:
The multi-award winning historical novel that depicts the early years of Thomas Cromwell’s life is a brilliant account of period and person, humanising and contextualising him while bringing the period to life. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read all year.
In WOLF HALL, one of our very best writers brings the opulent, brutal world of the Tudors to bloody, glittering life. It is the backdrop to the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell: lowborn boy, charmer, bully, master of deadly intrigue, and, finally, most powerful of Henry VIII’s courtiers.
Hilary Mantel’s multi-prize winning novel follows the early career of Thomas Cromwell, from humble beginnings as the son of a brutal smith and brewer, to his career as a mercenary on the Continent and then entry into court intrigue as a fixer for Cardinal Wolsey.
It’s a densely researched novel, with Mantel skilfully weaving in what’s known about Cromwell’s life and creating her own version of what is not. The effect is to humanise a man generally viewed by history as a villain – Henry VIII’s hatchet man and the man who pushed the country into the Reformation. What Mantel does particularly well is show Cromwell in counterpoint to other well known people from the period – notably the antagonism between him and Thomas More, his devotion to Wolsey and his friendship with Cranmer. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. Their desperate need for each other and ultimately themselves leaps from the page and has a driving impact on the life of Cromwell himself.
Mantel uses a device of referring to Cromwell as “he” throughout the text, which can be distracting in certain scenes when there is more than one male character as it’s not immediately clear who is being referred to. Although the novel takes a chronological approach to events, there are also flashbacks to earlier events, which can be disorientating.
The sense of period is also a character in its own right, with Mantel recreating the seething troubles of the times, the suspicion and intrigue and the religious fervour. The dirt, poverty, blood and need leaps from the page and makes for a deeply enthralling experience.
The Verdict:
The multi-award winning historical novel that depicts the early years of Thomas Cromwell’s life is a brilliant account of period and person, humanising and contextualising him while bringing the period to life. It’s one of the best novels I’ve read all year.
