The recap
England in the 1520s: Henry VIII is desperate for a male heir and determined to end his marriage to Katherine of Aragon so that he can marry Anne Boleyn. Into this dangerous court steps Thomas Cromwell, a blacksmith's son from Putney who has run from a violent father, fought as a soldier, traded across Europe and taught himself the law. Working first for Cardinal Wolsey, he begins to make himself useful to the king, and Mantel follows his rise with an intimacy that feels almost like eavesdropping. Long cast as a cold schemer, Cromwell becomes in her hands shrewd, witty, grieving and deeply human, seen from so close that the narration often refers to him simply as he. The prose is supple and alive, the dialogue quick, and history unfolds in the present tense, as if no one yet knows how it will turn out. It asks for patience and repays it richly, opening a trilogy that changed what historical fiction can do.
Why read it
For lovers of Tudor history, political drama and prose you want to read slowly. Anyone who enjoys watching a brilliant mind work a room will be riveted.
Fun facts
- 01
It won the 2009 Man Booker Prize, having been the bookmakers' favorite, as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- 02
In her Booker acceptance speech, Mantel said she had hesitated for about 20 years before beginning to write it.
- 03
Its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies, won the 2012 Booker, making Mantel the first woman to win the prize twice.
- 04
The BBC adapted the first two novels into a six-part series starring Mark Rylance as Cromwell, Damian Lewis as Henry VIII and Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn.
- 05
Mike Poulton's stage version premiered with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2013 and earned eight Tony Award nominations on Broadway.
