Wolf Hall
ABOUT
THE BOOK
England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey’s clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages. From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
A well research, compelling read with a wonderful cast of characters from history, with all their honourable and dishonourable traits draw. Thomas Cromwell is shown with a more human face – a true self-made man.
Hilary Mantel has set a new standard for historical fiction in Wolf Hall, her meticulously observed, vividly rendered and utterly riveting portrait of Thomas Cromwell, chief advisor to Henry V111.
The book that has attracted the most interest from local reading groups and the most requested novel of the year.
An intimate, lively, well-researched account of the life at court and in London during the reign of Henry V111. A lesson in politics and human heart through the eyes of a lesser character: Thomas Cromwell.
Outstanding book.
Wolf Hall is a vivid, authentic, richly imagined retelling of a particularly intriguing period in English history.
Hilary Mantel has an unusual way of looking at things. Her interpretation of the Ann Boleyn saga is no exception. The book, Wolf Hall, is the story of Thomas Cromwell, who became Henry 8th’s secretary, and who rises from a life of obscurity and poverty to becoming one of the most influential men in England. The book is written from his point of view and though his eyes we see King Henry, Ann Boleyn, Thomas Moore and other protagonists of that era in English History.
Although history traditionally portrays Thomas Cromwell as hard and ruthless, Mantel gives him a humanity and appeal not usually apparent in biographies of this man. Conversely, the usually saintly Thomas Moore is portrayed as cruel and unfeeling. She also allows us, through Cromwell, to see the world through the eyes of medieval man, suspicious, fearful and always afraid of eternal damnation. This can make people act with great cruelty, as enduring cruelty and pain in this life was considered better than suffering in hell after death. The book ends with Thomas Cromwell at the height of his career, on his way to Wolf hall, where his fortunes will change for the worse.
Mantel deftly blends historic facts and fiction, lushly illustrating Thomas Cromwell’s ascent to power in the age of Henry VIII. Wolf Hall won the 2009 Man Booker Prize for Fiction and the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award.
A wonderfully, well researched portrait of Thomas Cromwell and the court of Henry VIII, and the Seymour Family, whose family seat was Wolf Hall, winner of the Man Booker Prize.