So, we all know the deal with Henry VIII, right? He divorced a couple of wives, executed a couple more, and really pissed the Pope off into the bargain. It’s well-trod ground for historical fiction, but in Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel puts a unique spin on it by relating it all from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell.
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If your memories of high-school history are a little fuzzy, it might be best to have a squiz over the Wikipedia page of Henry VIII, and maybe a quick review of the relationship between the monarchy and parliament in Tudor England wouldn’t hurt. If nothing else, it will be helpful to know who the heck Thomas Cromwell is before you dive in. Cheat sheet: he was an English lawyer who rose from nothing to serve as chief minister to the King from 1534 to 1540, and he was one of the most powerful proponents of the English Reformation (where England split from Rome and the Catholic Church).
Mantel spent five years researching and writing Wolf Hall, making sure her account of Thomas Cromwell and the back-room machinations of Henry VIII’s reign were as accurate as possible. Her account starts in 1500, when a teenage Cromwell runs away from his abusive father. He serves for a period off-page as a soldier in France, and the story picks up again later, in 1527, when he’s back in England, a successful lawyer and a married father of three.
Cromwell gets his start in English politics serving Cardinal Wolsey, who falls out of favour with Henry VIII when he drags his feet on securing the King an annulment from his first wife (Catherine of Aragon). See, you’ve got to understand the driving force of Wolf Hall is Henry VIII’s boner for Anne Boleyn. Cromwell, despite his allegiance to the Cardinal, is an opportunist at heart, who sees the chance for personal advancement in helping Henry VIII finally, finally get laid (and, hopefully, get a male heir). So, inch by inch, he helps Henry VIII secure a separation from Rome, establishes him as the head of his own Church, and Catherine is left for dust while Anne secures her place as Queen.
That’s a bit of a potted summary, but honestly, if you want to know the ins-and-outs, you should just read Wolf Hall. What I want to talk about is the rich sensory detail in Mantel’s retelling: every page gives you something you can smell, taste, or hear. She has said that it was her goal with this book, to put the reader in the shoes of the characters, rather than looking at the story in retrospect with all of the moral judgements we can make in hindsight. She absolutely nailed it – and it’s surprisingly funny into the bargain.
Of course, I need to offer some content warnings, but it’s mostly standard medieval/Renaissance stuff: child abuse, grief/loss, executions, and brief mentions of dog neglect and death (though most of the animals fare quite well, overall). If you’re a historical fiction reader, none of it will even raise your eyebrows. And, it must be said, a lot more of us are historical fiction readers now thanks in large part to Wolf Hall and its sequels (Bring Up The Bodies and The Mirror And The Light) – the trilogy has sold an estimated 5 million copies worldwide, and has been translated into more than 40 languages, in addition to scoring Mantel two (count ’em!) Booker Prizes.
This might sound random, but I would actually especially recommend Wolf Hall to fans of The West Wing. They both focus on all the back-room manoeuvering that takes place one step removed from the seat of power, and although Henry VIII is a far less sympathetic character than Martin Sheen’s President Bartlet, the vibes match very well.
Read Wolf Hall on audiobook via Libro.fm here.
My favourite Amazon reviews of Wolf Hall:
- “Wolf Hall fails on two fronts – style and content.” – Catherine Spear
- “I don’t know why authors want to write in present tense. Thomas Cromwell is not alive right now. He died centuries ago.” – Dale Switzer
- “Having needles shoved into my eyes while simultaneously having multiple root canals would have been less painful… I would like to sit down with the author, and talk to her for hours in a way that she would not understand – she deserves a taste of her own medicine.” – Jonathan Caplan
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