Wolf Hall

Paperback, 653 pages

English language

Published April 18, 2011 by Harper Perennial.

ISBN:: 978-1-55468-778-7
OCLC Number:: 775060701

(1 review)

Assuming the power recently lost by the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell counsels a mercurial Henry VIII on the latter's efforts to marry Anne Boleyn against the wishes of Rome, a successful endeavor that comes with a dangerous price.England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but he has no male heir. Despite opposition from the pope and most of Europe, he is determined to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The quest for the king's freedom destroys his brilliant adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum and a deadlock. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. A political genius, a briber, a bully and a charmer, Cromwell has broken all the rules of a rigid society in his ascent to power, and he is preparing to break some more. Pitting himself against parliament, the political establishment and the papacy, he is prepared to reshape …

Assuming the power recently lost by the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell counsels a mercurial Henry VIII on the latter's efforts to marry Anne Boleyn against the wishes of Rome, a successful endeavor that comes with a dangerous price.England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but he has no male heir. Despite opposition from the pope and most of Europe, he is determined to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The quest for the king's freedom destroys his brilliant adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum and a deadlock. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. A political genius, a briber, a bully and a charmer, Cromwell has broken all the rules of a rigid society in his ascent to power, and he is preparing to break some more. Pitting himself against parliament, the political establishment and the papacy, he is prepared to reshape Efigland to his own and Henry's desires.

6 editions

Aaron reviewed Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (The Wolf Hall Trilogy, #1)

5 stars

I don't read a ton of fiction that takes actual historical figures as their characters. I'm not even sure why I made an exception for Wolf Hall, other than the fact that has been so widely acclaimed and since I'm not a historian of the UK, Mantel could write pretty much anything and I would believe it. The achievement here is significant -- Mantel juggles an enormous cast of characters, and the book consists almost entirely of dialogue among them. Cromwell is "he" throughout the course of the book, and with him there are rapid-fire shifts from exterior to interior dialogue. Does this book comport with "what happened"? I can't say -- but it was a powerful read and I enjoyed it immensely.

Subjects

Fiction
History
Romans, nouvelles
Histoire

Places

Great Britain
Grande-Bretagne