Nancy S. (avidbookcollector) -
Helpful Score: 10
I have to say that I love all things Tudor, and Wolf Hall is no exception, but it is exceptional. In most of the novels about Henry VIII's England, Cromwell plays a role, but he's never been the main character. Writers most often leave the famous wives of Henry VIII (divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived) to play that role. And although on the wonderful TV series The Tudors on Showtime, Cromwell plays a major role, it's all about his life at court. In reality, not a lot is known about this person, but Hilary Mantel has woven her tale not only around Cromwell, but through him.
In Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel takes a slice of Tudor history and allows the reader to view it through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell,. who rose through life from his origins as the son of a blacksmith to become the chief minister of King Henry VIII. From his humble origins, he manages to become an important advisor to the ill-fated Cardinal Wolsey, who, as everyone knows, started his downhill slide because of his inability to provide Henry VIII with a Church-sanctioned divorce from Katherine of Aragon. It is, ironically, Wolsey's fall that begins Cromwell's rise. Cromwell survives by his own maxim: "inch by inch forward. Never mind if he calls you an eel or a worm or a snake. Head down, don't provoke him." (4) His fortune is on the ascendant, throughout the story, but as everyone also knows, fortune is fleeting, and especially in this time, largely at the whim of the king.
Mantel gives Cromwell, who is often vilified in many Tudor history accounts, a human face. While he's busy rewriting life at court to suit his majesty and most often, to suit himself and his own desires for reform, Cromwell also is shown to be a family man and a man with a heart who cares about those less fortunate than himself. Cromwell's present is largely defined through his past, and it is through Cromwell's eyes that the reader watches the Tudor world unfold.
Mantel's characterization is excellent -- Anne Boleyn comes off as a cold, calculating queen wanna-be who will stop at nothing to get her way. Mary Boleyn, the queen's former mistress, is a bit Ophelia-like, capturing Cromwell's sympathy. Mantel's Henry (via Cromwell) is a monarch more concerned about the lack of an heir rather than the tyrant or the woman chaser that many books make him out to be. The side players are also well characterized: aside from Cromwell's family and friends, the various dukes, courtiers, and people of the French Court become very human, often with the veneer of royalty and nobility stripped off to reveal crudity, greed, ambition jealousy and fear. Even some of the "common" people, the subjects of Henry VIII, are portrayed here.
Wolf Hall is simply a masterpiece. Even though it comes in at about 651 pages, it goes quickly as the reader gets caught up in the world Mantel so eloquently creates. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Henry VIII and that time period. Readers looking for something along the lines of "The Other Boleyn Girl" won't find it here...this is fiction at its finest.
In Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel takes a slice of Tudor history and allows the reader to view it through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell,. who rose through life from his origins as the son of a blacksmith to become the chief minister of King Henry VIII. From his humble origins, he manages to become an important advisor to the ill-fated Cardinal Wolsey, who, as everyone knows, started his downhill slide because of his inability to provide Henry VIII with a Church-sanctioned divorce from Katherine of Aragon. It is, ironically, Wolsey's fall that begins Cromwell's rise. Cromwell survives by his own maxim: "inch by inch forward. Never mind if he calls you an eel or a worm or a snake. Head down, don't provoke him." (4) His fortune is on the ascendant, throughout the story, but as everyone also knows, fortune is fleeting, and especially in this time, largely at the whim of the king.
Mantel gives Cromwell, who is often vilified in many Tudor history accounts, a human face. While he's busy rewriting life at court to suit his majesty and most often, to suit himself and his own desires for reform, Cromwell also is shown to be a family man and a man with a heart who cares about those less fortunate than himself. Cromwell's present is largely defined through his past, and it is through Cromwell's eyes that the reader watches the Tudor world unfold.
Mantel's characterization is excellent -- Anne Boleyn comes off as a cold, calculating queen wanna-be who will stop at nothing to get her way. Mary Boleyn, the queen's former mistress, is a bit Ophelia-like, capturing Cromwell's sympathy. Mantel's Henry (via Cromwell) is a monarch more concerned about the lack of an heir rather than the tyrant or the woman chaser that many books make him out to be. The side players are also well characterized: aside from Cromwell's family and friends, the various dukes, courtiers, and people of the French Court become very human, often with the veneer of royalty and nobility stripped off to reveal crudity, greed, ambition jealousy and fear. Even some of the "common" people, the subjects of Henry VIII, are portrayed here.
Wolf Hall is simply a masterpiece. Even though it comes in at about 651 pages, it goes quickly as the reader gets caught up in the world Mantel so eloquently creates. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Henry VIII and that time period. Readers looking for something along the lines of "The Other Boleyn Girl" won't find it here...this is fiction at its finest.
Diana V. (Cecero) - , reviewed Wolf Hall (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic) on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Beautifully writen, well known History of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. And although you already know the ending, you are compelled to continue reading
Hilary Mantel has done exrensive research, and discribes her characters in detail.
All my life I thought Anne was an inocent child, abused and mistreated by her king.
Not till the very end do you suspect the reason for the title"Wolf Hall"
The book is intriguing and leaves you hoping for more.
Hilary Mantel has done exrensive research, and discribes her characters in detail.
All my life I thought Anne was an inocent child, abused and mistreated by her king.
Not till the very end do you suspect the reason for the title"Wolf Hall"
The book is intriguing and leaves you hoping for more.
I only got about half-way through this book, because the writing style is very tedious. The author uses personal pronouns to an excess, presumably to convey a greater intimacy with the characters, but I found I was asking myself too often who "he" is. Most of the time, of course, it's Thomas Cromwell, but it might not be and then I'd have to reread whole paragraphs under the new perspective. Yes, I know this book has won prizes and generally has favorable reviews, I just could not get used to the style. Neither was I able to develop any kind of feeling for the characters.
While I find this period of history very interesting (who doesn't?) the style of writing and the vignette-like episodes made the whole reading experience unenjoyable.
While I find this period of history very interesting (who doesn't?) the style of writing and the vignette-like episodes made the whole reading experience unenjoyable.
Margaret H. (ExPeruanista) -
I found Hilary Mantel's recent book of modern short stories (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) so annoying and pointless that I almost didn't start reading Wolf Hall, which would have meant I missed a treat. I like this one so well that I can hardly wait to get my hands on the second one, Bring Up the Bodies, and the yet-unpublished third volume. Yes, the narrative style, sort of told in the first person, but using the third person pronoun for whenever Cromwell himself speaks, is a bit tiresome, what with sorting out whether the 'he' who is speaking is Cromwell or whoever he was with in the preceding paragraph. After I'd become used to this, I had difficulty putting the book down, just because Cromwell is such a fascinating character, at least as he's shown here, and the suspense about what cynical, commonsensical thing he'll think or say next is quite irresistible.
Scott G. (Cabanachat) reviewed Wolf Hall (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic) on + 7 more book reviews
Marvelous. Leaves you panting for more.
I would rate this as one of the best books I've read in the past five years.
