“Henry the Eighth. He was a shit.”
I heard of this book from the Guardian’s recent list of the 100 best novels. Taking place over an eight-year period (apart from a brief prologue set during Cromwell’s teenage years), Wolf Hall chronicles a turbulent period in English history through the eyes of one of its architects: Thomas Cromwell, a low-born Englishman who became the key confidant and advisor to Henry VIII, masterminding his break with the Catholic church and the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, allowing him to marry Anne Boleyn.
Cromwell is portrayed as a staid and principled man, in contrast to the dogmatic and vicious Thomas More, who abhors the King’s efforts to break with the church. In this respect, it serves as a riposte to A Man for All Seasons, which casts More as the enlightened hero and Cromwell as the conniving villain. I have no idea which is the more accurate depiction, though Mantel’s book is meticulously researched, for whatever that’s worth.
I did note that the Cromwell of the novel was so preternaturally talented across fields as to feel a touch Mary Sue-ish, effortlessly picking up languages and vocations, street-toughened in contrast to the tenderfoot aristocrats around him while lacking none of their education or honed eloquence. Perhaps he really was that exceptional, but it did make me roll my eyes at times.
The book provides a character summary in its first pages, which I consulted often, but even with this guide I struggled at times to grasp who was who. It is a sprawling and ambitious book, worth reading for anyone interested in that period of history.
(Also, it serves as a reminder that it was really dangerous to be named Thomas and serve a king of England. The list of Thomases who were one-time confidants but later executed is surprisingly long: Becket, More, Cranmer, Cromwell. Wolsey only escaped because he died before the King could kill him. I’m sure I’m missing some).