The year is 1500 and in the London suburb of Putney, young Thomas Cromwell lies on the ground being kicked by his father, who is drunk. Thomas recovers from the beating this time, but he knows he needs to get away from Putney before it happens again and so he runs away to sea. After returning to England several years later, Cromwell enters the service of the Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, and begins to play an increasingly important political role. Wolf Hall follows Cromwell as he rises in power to become Henry VIII’s chief minister and helps to negotiate the King’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn.
This is one of those books I have thought about reading many times over the last few years but have never got around to actually doing it despite its popularity and Booker Prize success. Joining a readalong in the summer gave me the motivation to read it at last and although I didn’t keep up with the readalong schedule after the first couple of weeks I did still finish the book and am pleased to be able to say that I enjoyed it.
I didn’t know much about Cromwell before reading this book, but he has appeared as a secondary character in other historical novels I’ve read and he has always been portrayed very negatively – ruthless, cold and calculating. The famous portrait by Hans Holbein (shown below) does nothing to dispel this image! And so it was good to read a novel that showed Cromwell not as a villain (if anyone is portrayed as a villain in this book it’s actually Thomas More) but as an intelligent, charismatic, complex human being with both positive and negative qualities. Something that really comes across strongly is how well Cromwell has done to rise above his unhappy childhood and humble origins as the son of a blacksmith to become a confident, accomplished man people turn to for advice and leadership – one of the most powerful men in England. But while it was fascinating to read about the important historical events of the period and the political machinations that were going on behind the scenes, I also loved reading about Cromwell’s life at home. As well as his wife and children, Cromwell’s household expands over the years to include an assortment of other family members, servants, wards and employees and in Cromwell’s interactions with all of these people we see another side of his character: a kinder, more compassionate side.
Mantel’s writing is descriptive without being flowery and she really brings her Tudor world to life. Every little piece of information she gives us, however trivial it may seem, helps to slowly build a full and vivid picture of daily 16th century life – what people ate, how they dressed, the books they read and the games they played. To say the book was well-researched would be an understatement – I couldn’t believe how incredibly detailed it was! As someone who has read a lot of Tudor novels I’m already familiar with this period and many of the historical figures who appear in Wolf Hall and I found this to be an advantage, as Mantel assumes the reader has at least some knowledge of the period. If it’s been a while since you’ve read anything about the Tudors, it might be a good idea to remind yourself of some of the historical facts surrounding Henry VIII’s divorce, marriage to Anne Boleyn and the resulting separation from Rome before you start reading.
Before I read this book I had heard a lot about Mantel’s excessive use of pronouns – specifically, the word ‘he’ being used without making it clear who ‘he’ was. I quickly discovered that it was usually safe to assume that ‘he’ was Cromwell but ‘he’ was also frequently used to refer to two or three other people who were taking part in the same conversation, which could sometimes cause confusion. The dialogue itself is modern enough to be easy to understand without feeling too inappropriate, though sometimes Mantel uses quotation marks to indicate speech and sometimes she doesn’t, leaving you to decide whether a character is speaking or just thinking. As I’m not usually a fan of experimental or quirky writing styles this was one of the reasons I had resisted reading this book for such a long time, but it actually didn’t bother me as much as I thought it might. It didn’t stop me from enjoying the book and I wish I hadn’t let it put me off.
I’m now looking forward to reading Bring up the Bodies, hopefully before the final book in the trilogy is released!
She Reads Novels 
Many Dunnett readers have given these books their seal of approval, and they’re a picky crowd when it comes to historical fiction in general and the Tudors in particular – but I’ve also been a bit hesitant, because I’ve heard there is some pretty graphic violence. Did you find that?
Lisa, I am very, very squeamish about violence and I wasn’t bothered by it at all in this novel.
I don’t really like graphic violence either, but apart from the first chapter where Thomas is being beaten by his father, I can’t remember there being a lot of violence in the book.
I still have this to read! Perhaps 2013 is the year for me to read it! Glad to know its a good read, though the quirky writing style as you mention has put me off a bit too.
Once I got used to the writing style it wasn’t really a problem. I hope you enjoy it too if you decide to read it in 2013!
I’ve heard so much about this book and author, and yet I still didn’t really know what it was about till I read your review. It actually sounds really interesting and definitely worth considering once I’ve brushed up on my Tudor history.
It was fascinating and I learned a lot more about Tudor history from this book than we were ever taught at school!
Interesting how Cromwell is portrayed well, because you’re right, he is vilified so much. It’s also interesting how many writers are presenting More as a villain nowadays, too. There is much good in him, but the bad parts are really bad. I wasn’t aware of the writing style, I suppose I thought it would be more academic, though it sounds quite different for a historical novel.
I haven’t read much about Thomas More but he certainly didn’t come across very well in this book and seemed to be constantly in conflict with Cromwell.
It was one of my best of 2010 and also one of my bookclub’s best discussions (receiving general approval). I also usually have problems with experimental writing, but felt this one worked, it help put us right in the middle of the action.
It’s going to be one of my best of 2012, I think. I can imagine it would be a great book to discuss with a book club.
I read this last year and after the first few bumps with the pronoun issue, I settled right in and fell in love with the writing. I can’t wait to read the second installment! It’s also slated to be an HBO mini-series at some point, so I’m looking forward to that!
Yes, I remember hearing there was going to be a mini-series. Let’s hope they do a good job with it!
I’m so glad you liked this, Helen, because it is one of my favorite books. I read it back at the beginning of the year and was mesmerized by the writing and the story. I think the writing style might put some people off, but it’s really not difficult to read, is it? I haven’t read Bring Up the Bodies yet – that is on my list for 2013!
It was a lot easier to read than I had thought it would be! Bring Up the Bodies is on my list for 2013 now too.
I knew from the opening paragraphs which described the beating Cromwell had as a child, that I was going to love this book. It is written with such immediacy that you fel you are there with him on the floor looking at his fathers shoe. The astonishing thing is that Mantel managed to write a second book on the same subject with the same intensity. V
I could tell from the beginning that I was going to enjoy the book too – it’s great when that happens, isn’t it?
I LOVED this book – so glad you did, too! Bring Up the Bodies reads very quickly, too, so I hope you read it soon, too, though you can probably wait if you want to slowly parse out the gloriousness.
I can’t wait to read Bring Up the Bodies, if it’s as good as Wolf Hall! I’m waiting until the new year though, as I’m too busy at the moment to start any more long books.
I enjoyed this book so much! The pronoun issue did trip me up a bit but it wasn’t awful. I really liked hearing this story told from Cromwell’s point of view. If you liked Wolf Hall you will like Bring up the Bodies even more! That was my experience anyway 😉 The pronouns were cleaned up and it was a little bit “easier” to read if that makes sense.
I’m glad to hear that, as the pronoun problem was really the only thing I didn’t like about Wolf Hall.
I loved both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. (Can’t wait for book 3) What I loved the most was that the story was told by Cromwell, giving us a fresh perspective on the Tudor era. Such a well researched book, and the story-telling is so good. If you like historical fiction, you will love both these books. I have re-read both of them already!
I’m impressed that you’ve already re-read them both! I’m hoping to find time to read Bring Up the Bodies before the third book is published.
I’ve just finished ‘Bring up the Bodies’ which is also brilliant – and the pronoun thing didn’t bother me at all in the second book oddly – maybe I knew what to expect! One of my favourite historical fiction writers. I’m keen to explore the rest of her books now, I’ve heard particularly good things about ‘A Place of Greater Safety’… anyone read it? It’s massive!
My favorite historical novel of all time was The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I know this doesn’t
exactly fit in with the other books mentioned, so I will also say Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.