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Wolf Hall Paperback – August 31, 2010

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 20,746 ratings

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WINNER OF THE 2009 MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION
A
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER


England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel's
Wolf Hall is "a darkly brilliant reimagining of life under Henry VIII. . . . Magnificent." (The Boston Globe).

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall is a startling achievement, a brilliant historical novel focused on the rise to power of a figure exceedingly unlikely, on the face of things, to arouse any sympathy at all . . . . This is a novel too in which nothing is wasted, and nothing completely disappears.” ―Stephen Greenblatt, The New York Review of Books

“Nothing in the last few years has dazzled me more than Hilary Mantel's
Wolf Hall. . . . Magnificent.” ―Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

"
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel­’s epic fictionalized look at Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power, came out in 2009, but I was a little busy back then, so I missed it. Still great today."―Barack Obama

“On the origins of this once-world-shaking combat, with its still-vivid acerbity and cruelty, Hilary Mantel has written a historical novel of quite astonishing power. . . . With breathtaking subtlety--one quite ceases to notice the way in which she takes on the most intimate male habits of thought and speech--Mantel gives us a Henry who is sexually pathetic, and who needs a very down-to-earth counselor. . . . The means by which Mantel grounds and anchors her action so convincingly in the time she describes, while drawing so easily upon the past and hinting so indirectly at the future, put her in the very first rank of historical novelists. . . .
Wolf Hall is a magnificent service to the language and literature whose early emancipation it depicts and also, in its demystifying of one of history's wickedest men, a service to the justice that Josephine Tey first demanded in The Daughter of Time.” ―Christopher Hitchens, The Atlantic

“Whether we accept Ms Mantel's reading of history or not, her characters have a lifeblood of their own . . . . a Shakespearean vigour. Stylistically, her fly-on-the-wall approach is achieved through the present tense, of which she is a master. Her prose is muscular, avoiding cod Tudor dialogue and going for direct modern English. The result is Ms Mantel's best novel yet.” ―
The Economist

“A novel both fresh and finely wrought: a brilliant portrait of a society in the throes of disorienting change, anchored by a penetrating character study of Henry's formidable advisor, Thomas Cromwell. It's no wonder that her masterful book just won this year's Booker Prize . . . [Mantel's prose is] extraordinarily flexible, subtle, and shrewd.” ―
Wendy Smith, The Washington Post

“A huge book, in its range, ambition . . . in its success. [Mantel's] interest is in the question of good and evil as it applies to people who wield great power. That means anguish, exultation, deals, spies, decapitations, and fabulous clothes . . . She always goes for color, richness, music. She has read Shakespeare closely. One also hears the accents of the young James Joyce.” ―
Joan Acocella, The New Yorker

“Dazzling . . . .Thomas Cromwell remains a controversial and mysterious figure. Mantel has filled in the blanks plausibly, brilliantly.
Wolf Hall has epic scale but lyric texture. Its 500-plus pages turn quickly, winged and falconlike . . . . both spellbinding and believable.” ―Christopher Benfey, The New York Times Book Review

“Mantel's abilities to channel the life and lexicon of the past are nothing short of astonishing. She burrows down through the historical record to uncover the tiniest, most telling details, evoking the minutiae of history as vividly as its grand sweep. The dialogue is so convincing that she seems to have been, in another life, a stenographer taking notes in the taverns and palaces of England.” ―
Ross King, Los Angeles Times

“Darkly magnificent . . . Instead of bringing the past to us, her writing, brilliant and black, launches us disconcertingly into the past. We are space-time travelers landed in an alien world . . . history is a feast whose various and vital excitements and intrigues make the book a long and complex pleasure.” ―
Richard Eder, The Boston Globe

“Arch, elegant, richly detailed . . . [
Wolf Hall's] main characters are scorchingly well rendered. And their sharp-clawed machinations are presented with nonstop verve in a book that can compress a wealth of incisiveness into a very few well-chosen words . . . Deft and diabolical as they are, Ms. Mantel's slyly malicious turns of phrase . . . succinctly capture the important struggles that have set her characters talking.” ―Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Brilliant . . . A provocative, beautifully written book that ends much too soon.” ―
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“The essential Mantel element . . . is a style--of writing and of thinking--that combines steely-eyed intelligence with intense yet wide-ranging sympathy. This style implies enormous respect for her readers, as if she believes that we are as intelligent and empathetic as she is, and one of the acute pleasures of reading her books is that we sometimes find ourselves living up to those expectations. . . . If you are anything like me, you will finish
Wolf Hall wishing it were twice as long as its 560 pages. Torn away from this sixteenth-century world, in which you have come to know the engaging, pragmatic Cromwell as if he were your own brother--as if he were yourself--you will turn to the Internet to find out more about him . . . But none of this, however instructive will make up for your feeling of loss, because none of this additional material will come clothed in the seductive, inimitable language of Mantel's great fiction.” ―Wendy Lesser, Bookforum

“Mantel sets a new standard for historical fiction with her latest novel
Wolf Hall, a riveting portrait of Thomas Cromwell . . . Mantel's crystalline style, piercing eye and interest in, shall we say, the darker side of human nature, together with a real respect for historical accuracy, make this novel an engrossing, enveloping read.” ―BookPage

“The story of Cromwell's rise shimmers in Ms. Mantel's spry intelligent prose . . . [Mantel] leaches out the bones of the story as it is traditionally known, and presents to us a phantasmagoric extravaganza of the characters' plans and ploys, toils and tactics.” ―
Washington Times

“Historical fiction at its finest,
Wolf Hall captures the character of a nation and its people. It exemplifies something that has lately seemed as mythical as those serpent princesses: the great English novel.” ―Bloomberg News

“Inspired . . . there are no new stories, only new ways of telling them. Set during Henry VIII's tumultuous, oft-covered reign, this epic novel . . . proves just how inspired a fresh take can be. [Mantel] is an author as audacious as Anne [Boleyn] herself, imagining private conversations between public figures and making it read as if she had a glass to the wall.” ―
People Magazine (four stars, People Pick)

“A deft, original, but complicated novel. Fans of historical fiction--or great writing--should howl with delight.” ―
USA Today

“[Mantel] wades into the dark currents of 16th century English politics to sculpt a drama and a protagonist with a surprisingly contemporary feel . . .
Wolf Hall is sometimes an ambitious read. But it is a rewarding one as well.” ―Marjorie Kehe, The Christian Science Monitor

“This masterwork is full of gems for the careful reader. The recurring details alone . . . shine through like some kind of Everyman's poetry. Plainspoken and occasionally brutal,
Wolf Hall is both as complex and as powerful as its subject, as messy as life itself.” ―Clea Simon, The Boston Phoenix

“Reader, you're in excellent hands with Hilary Mantel . . . for this thrumming, thrilling read. . . . Part of the delight of masterfully paced
Wolf Hall is how utterly modern it feels. It is political intrigue pulsing with energy and peopled by historical figures who have never seemed more alive--and more human.” ―Ellen Kanner, Miami Herald

Wolf Hall is a solid historical novel that's also a compelling read . . . Mantel's narrative manages to be both rich and lean: there's plenty of detail, but it's not piled in endless paragraphs. The plot flows swiftly from one development to the next.” ―David Loftus, The Oregonian

“[Mantel] seamlessly blends fiction and history and creates a stunning story of Tudor England . . . . With its excellent plotting and riveting dialogue,
Wolf Hall is a gem of a novel that is both accurate and gripping.” ―Cody Corliss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“[A] spirited novel . . . . Mantel has a solid grasp of court politics and a knack for sharp, cutting dialogue.” ―
Thom Geier, Entertainment Weekly

“This is in all respects a superior work of fiction, peopled with appealing characters living through a period of tense high drama‚There will be few novels this year as good as this one.” ―
Library Journal, starred review

“Mixing fiction with fact, Mantel captures the atmosphere of the times and brings to life the important players.” ―
Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Hilary Mantel was a renowned English writer who twice won the Booker Prize, for her best-selling novel Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. The final novel of the Wolf Hall trilogy, The Mirror & the Light, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and won worldwide critical acclaim. Mantel wrote seventeen celebrated books, including the memoir Giving Up the Ghost, and she was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, the Walter Scott Prize, the Costa Book Award, the Hawthornden Prize, and many other accolades. In 2014, Mantel was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). She died at age seventy in 2022.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; First Edition (August 31, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 604 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312429983
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312429980
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.59 x 1.11 x 8.28 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 20,746 ratings

About the author

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Hilary Mantel is one of Britain’s most accomplished, acclaimed and garlanded writers. She is the author of fifteen books, including A Place of Greater Safety, Beyond Black, and the memoir Giving Up the Ghost. Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies have both been awarded The Man Booker Prize. The conclusion to The Wolf Hall Trilogy, The Mirror & the Light, was published in 2020.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
20,746 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the storyline magnificent and plausible. They also appreciate the depth of content and grand achievement. However, they find the style distracting, annoying, and hard to stay focused on. They mention that the plot gets lost in minutiae and is not easy to embrace. They find the pacing slow. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it strong and wry, while others say it's abysmal and poorly copy edited. Readers disagree on the characters, with others finding them memorable and uninspired. They disagree on readability, with those finding the prose witty and sharp, while other find it difficult to follow.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

967 customers mention "Storyline"964 positive3 negative

Customers find the storyline marvelous, engaging, and imaginative. They also describe the book as a brilliant work that immerses them in a world. Readers also appreciate the shrewd, versatile self-made man and the witty, sharp narration. They mention that the historical content is mostly accurate and has enough family drama for a Jonathan Franzen novel.

"...It was a pleasure to read such thoughtful, elegant, and - at points - even inspired prose.I recommend "Wolf Hall" without reservation...." Read more

"...It has enough family drama for a Jonathan Franzen novel, power machinations to rival "The Godfather Part II" and the joyous thrust-and-parry of..." Read more

"...A final point in recommendation: Wolf Hall is a healthy corrective for those whose views of Cromwell and of More have been shaped by the likes of..." Read more

"...Arrange your face is damn good advice. Cromwell in particular is very well done; not only did he take on a personality beyond any depiction I have..." Read more

340 customers mention "Content"308 positive32 negative

Customers find the content interesting, deep, and knowledgeable. They also say it's interesting to see behind the scenes in the Tudor court, and the book has huge potential. Readers appreciate the perceptiveness of casual observations, and praise the detail given to both setting and character. They mention the book is searching for truth and goodness, and find the book imaginative and compelling.

"...Mantel's Cromwell is a man of astute observation and deep intuition, a man of passion he rarely lets show lest one dance step too far carry him off..." Read more

"...Far from it. "Wolf Hall" is a book that's very much alive, rich in philosophy, robust in its humor...." Read more

"...He is intelligent, self-educated, worldly, and acts always in perfect compliance with required social forms...." Read more

"...The book had huge potential and is overall a good read with great characters and wonderful bits of wisdom and history...." Read more

1,032 customers mention "Readability"528 positive504 negative

Customers are mixed about the readability. Some mention that the writing is as free from melodrama as it is from bodice-ripping, and is incisively portrayed throughout. They also say the fiction is truer to life and more readable and engaging than bald facts. However, some find the narration somewhat difficult to follow, the frequent "he" speakers make the reading challenging and disruptive, and the book gets a bit confusing and heavy with too many details.

"...It was a pleasure to read such thoughtful, elegant, and - at points - even inspired prose.I recommend "Wolf Hall" without reservation...." Read more

"...It lent an aura of confusion and ambiguity to the entire book. For example:"Old Wykys was queasy when they put out to see...." Read more

"...This is dramatic irony at its most potent: Cromwell imagines a vacation from statesmanship in the company of Jane Seymour, but we know, and Mantel..." Read more

"...Occasionally, it gets a bit heavy and lumbering with too many details. (unless you love the details, which many do.)This book rates 5 stars...." Read more

310 customers mention "Characters"208 positive102 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the characters in the book. Some find them well-done and memorable, while others say they're unmemorable and uninspired.

"...the usual cast of heroes and grotesques, but rather profoundly three-dimensional characters...." Read more

"...The book had huge potential and is overall a good read with great characters and wonderful bits of wisdom and history...." Read more

"...I felt there was too much information, too many characters, too many pages, too many things going on...." Read more

"...is amazing, the writing is (if not long) well-done and the characters come to life in front of your eyes.Patricia A. GuthrieReviewer" Read more

152 customers mention "Writing style"55 positive97 negative

Customers are mixed about the writing style. Some find the book strong, robust, and loyal. They also describe the tone as authentic, wry, insightful, sad, sophisticated, and enjoyable. However, others say the book is abysmal, pedantic, poorly copy edited, and has an abbreviated quality.

"...throat, these are sounds of recognition, intimate, daughterly, almost disapproving. Her breast is gore-streaked and flesh clings to her claws.”..." Read more

"...Cromwell the man is a brilliant and astute observer, lawyerly and detached while suffering increasing pangs of conscience as his familial..." Read more

"...Occasionally, it gets a bit heavy and lumbering with too many details. (unless you love the details, which many do.)This book rates 5 stars...." Read more

"This book is immense. It is risky. It is voluminous in both the concept and execution...." Read more

363 customers mention "Plot"83 positive280 negative

Customers find the plot tedious, boring, and repetitive. They also say it's impossible to discern real historical events from fiction, and is riddled with period parlance. Additionally, readers mention that the book is not easy to embrace and connect with Mantel's format.

"...at being atmospheric or deep, but instead it continually pulls the reader out of the story...." Read more

"...This book won a prestigious award? I just could not connect with Mantel's format, which seemed to me to be written almost in the fourth person...." Read more

"...This is very useful, but even so it can be hard to keep track...." Read more

"...It is wry, insightful, sad, sophisticated, enjoyable, and immensely thought-provoking...." Read more

174 customers mention "Pacing"46 positive128 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book frustrating and mention that it takes them much longer to read than they normally do. They also mention that the tempo picks up periodically, then reverts back to detail.

"..."Wolf Hall" can therefore be a difficult read at points, and does command the reader's full attention...." Read more

"...It slowed down my reading of the book, so it took a lot longer to get through than is usually my experience...." Read more

"...ever seen: quiet, understated, absolutely convincing, and absolutely electrifying. So consider this also a rave review for the PBS series...." Read more

"...All this makes it very difficult for the reader to know who is saying and doing what...." Read more

100 customers mention "Engagement"17 positive83 negative

Customers find the book less than compelling, distracting, and annoying. They also say the approach is jarring and not enough to keep them focused. Readers also mention that the book is choppy and they are unable to get fully invested in the main character. They say the author is vastly overrated.

"...But it is flawed, deeply I think, by what is an unnecessary stylistic device...." Read more

"...To me it was tedious, boring and repetative...." Read more

"...where my praise dries up - for all its merits, Wolf Hall became a rather dull slog for me...." Read more

"...But the approach is jarring and unnecessarily distracting...." Read more

This paperback is poorly designed
4 Stars
This paperback is poorly designed
Be aware that, despite the generous size of this paperback, the designers basically set the type in relatively small type with huge 1-inch margins, essentially negating the book size advantage and making this more challenging to read comfortably. A truly dumb decision.
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2010
"Wolf Hall" reduces the sprawling soap opera of Henry VIII's "Great Matter" and his subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn to a world in small, populated by men of degrees of power who are caught up in this political nightmare whether they wish to be or not. The narrative centers around the still-controversial figure of Henry's favorite "hatchet man," Thomas Cromwell, and spins out as told through his increasingly cold and ambitious eyes.

Henry and the "great personages" of the court make relatively few appearances until the second half of the book, instead serving as the larger, often unseen canvas for this tale of grief, sorrow, intrigue, and the dehumanizing force all too often inherit in the exercise of temporal and ecclesiastical power. They are the backdrop against which the lesser - but in many ways no less important - lights spin their plots and grapple with the morality and consequences of their fateful political decisions. Cromwell, in this story, becomes "all too human," not a villian any more than the chill and fanatic St Thomas More or the pleasantly hale, sometime kind, and yet flawed Cardinal Wolsey. By providing Cromwell his often neglected back-story, Mantel allows the reader to understand not only him but also the evolution of his own political and religious attitudes in the high-stakes "sand-castle at high tide" shifting world of Tudor power politics, all overlaid by the increasing sense of dread caused by Henry VIII's expanding obssessions and beginning slide into cruel tyranny with the opening of the drama that will lead to the contrived death of Anne Boleyn. Cromwell the man is a brilliant and astute observer, lawyerly and detached while suffering increasing pangs of conscience as his familial misfortunes grow in stark contrast to his expanding political power. Mantel paints a mechanical mind always working, always working, cognizant of the tightropes of class, wit, business, money, war, marriage, and religion up until he truly becomes the "King's Man" as he rides off to arrange the third marriage to the milky Jane Seymour. But this Cromwell is also cognizant of the things like family and loss as having the deeper meanings, even if he lacks the vocabulary to articulate them as he feels he ought and in light of his achingly slow and fumbling religious awakening, which comes at it does in perfectly believeable fits and starts. Mantel's Cromwell is a man of astute observation and deep intuition, a man of passion he rarely lets show lest one dance step too far carry him off to destruction. For those who have come to expect Cromwell as a new "Iago," this book will savagely disappoint. And this, I think, is a far more credible Cromwell than the cartoonish villain of Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons," full-fleshed and whole blooded, not the slithery, hand-rubbing opportunistic sadist or implied sociopath of far too many other - and lesser - treatments.

I have also reviwed the negative comments in this thread, and I have two comments of my own. It is true that Mantel uses a "flashback" style of narrative with sometime bits of "stream of consciousness." "Wolf Hall" can therefore be a difficult read at points, and does command the reader's full attention. But, I have to take grave exception to those who were obviously looking for the more soap-operatic or overtly "serpentine" court-gossipy novel. This is a work of great subtlety, and finely appreciates how the affairs of people of power are actually managed and executed by others in their service, often without their actual knowledge and often at unappreciated great risk. Further, Mantel's writing provides the reflective atmosphere that perfectly patterns the evolution of Cromwell's own entangled personal/political mind. She manages her extended metaphors and historical-literary allusions, not to mention superior command of historical detail, with nothing less than a deft and practiced hand. It was a pleasure to read such thoughtful, elegant, and - at points - even inspired prose.

I recommend "Wolf Hall" without reservation. True, it can be a hard read. It is not a Tudor soap opera with the usual cast of heroes and grotesques, but rather profoundly three-dimensional characters. But it is one of the best works of historical fiction about the Tudor epoch I have enjoyed in a long, long while.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2013
In the grubby little town of Putney, Thomas Cromwell grows up fighting -- sometimes with other boys, sometimes with his brutish father, Walter. After one too many bloody kickings by Walter, Thomas decides it's time to get out, though not just because of his father's murderous behavior: In his boot-addled memories, Thomas fears he may have killed someone in a fight by the river.

"He thinks there might have been a knife in it somewhere; and whoever it was stuck in, it wasn't him, so was it by him? All this is unclear in his mind. What is clear is his thought about Walter: I've had enough of this. If he gets after me again I'm going to kill him, and if I kill him they'll hang me, and if they're going to hang me I want a better reason."

If he's going to fight, he figures, he might as well beat up Frenchmen, so he sets out from Putney, looking for a war to join. What seems to infuriate Walter so much is the boy's natural intelligence. Not only can he read and write -- a rarity in these here parts -- he manages to pick up Welsh simply by keeping company with the people who speak it. And rather than beating on Frenchmen, he ends up learning from them. In fact, during his soldiering, Cromwell learns much from every nationality he contacts: French, Spanish, Italian, German and so on. Though his fighting prowess comes in handy, it's Cromwell's mind rather than his fists that brings him into the employ of Thomas Wolsey, archbishop of York, a couple of decades down the road. As the cardinal's "man of business," Cromwell meets his "most devoted enemy," Stephen Gardiner.

Cromwell makes no shortage of enemies as Wolsey's designated arm twister: "Bow to the inevitable, he urges. Deference to the lord cardinal. Regard his watchful and fatherly care; believe his keen eye is fixed on the ultimate good of the church. These are the phrases with which to negotiate."

Cromwell marvels at Thomas More, "a star in another firmament." Where More is bedrocked in his conviction of what is truth, Cromwell's doubts grow alongside his knowledge. "Show me where it says, in the Bible, 'Purgatory.' Show me where it says 'relics, monks, nuns.' Show me where it says 'Pope.'" While More, Defender of the Faith, condemns Martin Luther and William Tyndale, Cromwell stashes their forbidden texts in his home and encourages his family to read and learn. The cardinal practices a kind of moderate tolerance: "Wolsey will burn books, but not men."

Wolsey does not tolerate Anne Boleyn's sexual social climbing, and that contributes to his fall from favor with the mercurial King Henry VIII, who decides to turn the archdiocese into the Boleyn boudoir and sends Wolsey into exile to await charges of treason for letting the Lutheran heresy spread. Though it grieves him to leave the ailing cardinal, Cromwell wrangles a job in Parliament under the supervision of Anne Boleyn's uncle, Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk. It's here that Cromwell snags Boleyn's attention:

"Her eyes passed over him on their way to someone who interested her more. They are black eyes, slightly protuberant, shiny like the beads of an abacus; they are shiny and always in motion, as she makes calculations of her own advantage. But Uncle Norfolk must have said to her, 'There goes the man who knows the cardinal's secrets,' because now when he comes into her sight her long neck darts; those shining black beads go click, click, as she looks him up and down and decides what use can be got out of him."

Cromwell also catches the ear of King Henry, who's half-impressed, half-irritated by Cromwell's candor and wisenheimer wit. During Lent, when Henry gives up nookie to stay by the side of his wife, Katherine, Anne Boleyn gets bored enough to summon Cromwell to fight with her. He matches her verbal volleys, word for word, in her native French. This gets to be a regular thing between them.

In Boleyn's household, Cromwell meets one of her ladies-in-waiting, a "milk-faced creeper" named Jane, spying for the Seymour family: "Every rising family needs information. With the king considering himself a bachelor, any little girl can hold the key to the future."

Henry values Cromwell's counsel so much that he decides to make it official and advances Cromwell to the position of councillor. As such, Cromwell proves integral to the king's efforts to pull England from the influence of Holy Mother Church, so Henry can play pattyfingers without the Catholic guilt trip and save a few bucks on annates to Rome. And so the ranks of Cromwell's enemies grow, including Queen Katherine and her perpetually ailing daughter, Mary (who reminds me of that creepy little kid from the movie "Dune").

From kitchen gossip to pillow talk to Westminster whispers to sport sniping in the king's court, it all reaches Cromwell, who tucks away each bit of information until he can deploy it to maximum effect. He just as carefully guards information about himself. "It is the absence of fact that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires." Cromwell's foes never miss an opportunity to point out his common origins, never realizing how hopelessly outmatched they are against "the cleverest man in England." It's not his low birth that's Cromwell's vulnerability: It's the thug that potentially lurks behind the veneer of law, the fear that he has a murder on his soul as a result of that riverside stabbing when he was a teen.

Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" is a capital-B Big Book (and it's only Part 1 in a projected trilogy). In trying to summarize it, I fear I've made it sound like the kind of stultifying textbook sadistic history or poli-sci teachers might inflict on high school students. Far from it. "Wolf Hall" is a book that's very much alive, rich in philosophy, robust in its humor. It has enough family drama for a Jonathan Franzen novel, power machinations to rival "The Godfather Part II" and the joyous thrust-and-parry of brilliant people who take every conversation as an opportunity to sharpen their wits. And, simply, "Wolf Hall" is a blast to read.

There is a particular style oddity that should be noted: Mantel rarely refers to Cromwell by name. More often, she just writes "he" or "him." This can result in pronoun pileup when Cromwell interacts with other "hims." One could argue that Mantel intentionally plants these reader speedbumps to slow her audience down to get people to reread certain key passages. One could also argue that it's an artyfarty affectation and an attempt by Mantel to set herself apart from more prosaic historical novelists, the Folletts and the Cornwells. It doesn't matter that much. Mantel's writing is generally worthy of repeat reading.

There are people who eagerly lap up every bit of tabloid coverage of the family ruling England today, every nip slip and bared buttock, every stumble, fumble, fashion faux pas and nostril hair gone awry. I've never understood such fascination. Didn't our unruly ancestors fight a war so we wouldn't have to pay attention to our betters in the aristocracy across the Atlantic? "Wolf Hall" tells of a larger-than-life era when British royals warranted that kind of attention.

I am rather disappointed that Mantel didn't bother to write the classic banquet scene in which Henry decimates a leg of lamb and a barrel of ale. What would Charles Laughton say?
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Feli-Mar Barbero
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on December 7, 2023
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Franz Kortmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Die blutige Welt der Tudors porträtiert am mâchtitigsten Berater von Heinrich VIII.
Reviewed in Germany on February 12, 2024
"Wolf Hall" (2009) ist der erste Teil der Trilogie über Thomas Cromwell, der rechten Hand von Heinrich VIII. Dieser historische Roman schildert den Aufstieg Cromwells aus einfachen, brutalen Verhältnissen bis hin zum mächtigsten Höfling des Tudor-Hofes. Als Meister der Intrige und skrupelloser Berater des Köngs ist er entscheidend für dessen Macht. "Wolf Hall" ist ein episches Werk von 650 Seiten, und sein historisches Milieu wird eindrucksvoll beschrieben. Dass dieser opulente Roman den "Booker Prize" erhielt und ein internationaler Bestseller wurde, ist folgerichtig. Ich habe "Wolf Hall" non-stop gelesen!
2 people found this helpful
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Waldir
5.0 out of 5 stars Wolf Hall: A Novel
Reviewed in Brazil on May 28, 2021
Ainda estou no começo do livro. Mas já dá para perceber que é um livro excepcional!
Noirita Das
5.0 out of 5 stars An astounding piece of historical fiction.
Reviewed in India on August 27, 2022
𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 by Hilary Mantel is a historical novel with immense political intrigue and an extraordinary case of rags to riches. A man with an abusive father and a difficult childhood, Thomas Cromwell strives to become the best version of himself that he could. Often mocked for his profession as a lawyer and the right hand man of Thomas Wolsey, the Lord High Chancellor in the court of Henry VIII of England; he finds himself in situations that enabled him to use his persuasive skills and conversing prowess that stimulated his sky high ambitions.

King Henry VIII was unhappy. As a King who was driven by his own whims tremendously, he favoured those who aided his wishes and did not dawdle in the elimination of those who didn’t. He was a King who wanted everyone around him to dedicate their lives for his pleasure. Incredibly complacent and lover of all things of beauty and grace, Henry was a King who could be won over by flattery. Cromwell is a jack of all trades and 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 is him proving to Henry that he is truly the most able man to be by his side. With Anne Boleyn as his partner in crime, Cromwell sets on a dangerous journey to acquire power second to the King of England.

A masterful portrayal of the More- Cromwell conflict, the lively presence of historical characters like Catherine of Aragon, Mary Boleyn and the scandalous setting of the Seymour family home Wolf Hall were all achieved by Mantel’s brilliance. Moreover, Anne Boleyn’s exigent presence in the Tudor court and Cromwell’s muted sense of humour made the novel seemingly elegant in its delivery despite the uncustomary actions of its characters.

Mantel’s prose and impeccable research is addictive. To read a novel over 500 pages from the perspective of an unpopular historical figure from one of the most tempestuous periods of English history will seem daunting in the initial pages, but gradually it grows on the reader just like its titular character’s status.
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Noirita Das
5.0 out of 5 stars An astounding piece of historical fiction.
Reviewed in India on August 27, 2022
𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 by Hilary Mantel is a historical novel with immense political intrigue and an extraordinary case of rags to riches. A man with an abusive father and a difficult childhood, Thomas Cromwell strives to become the best version of himself that he could. Often mocked for his profession as a lawyer and the right hand man of Thomas Wolsey, the Lord High Chancellor in the court of Henry VIII of England; he finds himself in situations that enabled him to use his persuasive skills and conversing prowess that stimulated his sky high ambitions.

King Henry VIII was unhappy. As a King who was driven by his own whims tremendously, he favoured those who aided his wishes and did not dawdle in the elimination of those who didn’t. He was a King who wanted everyone around him to dedicate their lives for his pleasure. Incredibly complacent and lover of all things of beauty and grace, Henry was a King who could be won over by flattery. Cromwell is a jack of all trades and 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 is him proving to Henry that he is truly the most able man to be by his side. With Anne Boleyn as his partner in crime, Cromwell sets on a dangerous journey to acquire power second to the King of England.

A masterful portrayal of the More- Cromwell conflict, the lively presence of historical characters like Catherine of Aragon, Mary Boleyn and the scandalous setting of the Seymour family home Wolf Hall were all achieved by Mantel’s brilliance. Moreover, Anne Boleyn’s exigent presence in the Tudor court and Cromwell’s muted sense of humour made the novel seemingly elegant in its delivery despite the uncustomary actions of its characters.

Mantel’s prose and impeccable research is addictive. To read a novel over 500 pages from the perspective of an unpopular historical figure from one of the most tempestuous periods of English history will seem daunting in the initial pages, but gradually it grows on the reader just like its titular character’s status.
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Ellen I.
5.0 out of 5 stars So interesting!
Reviewed in Spain on April 28, 2022
Just plain amazing! I couldn't stop reading this novel and am looking forward to the other two in this trilogy. She is now my favorite author.