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Wolf Hall

by Hilary Mantel

Literature & Fiction » Literary

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Description:

Henry VIII was wishing to get a divorce from his life and marry Anne Boleyn but this was against the rules of the church. Therefore the king stirred up a conflict with the church opposing its power which caused religious, political and social disorder in the 16th-century Europe. Mantel makes a brave endeavor to depict the destructive intrigues of that time from the point of view of Thomas Cromwell who was born in a poor family but rose to an advisor of Henry VIII. Cromwell's beginnings are somewhat doubtful as he is described as being often beaten by his father, fighting for the French, studying law, mastering French, Latin and Italian. In this novel facts and fiction are entwined. The atmosphere of that time is described very precisely. Mantel introduces famous historic personalities like Henry VIII; his wife, Katherine of Aragon; the charming Boleyn sisters; and conflicting Thomas More. However, the novel contains a number of unnecessary details of all Henry's political victories and failures which outshine the personal story of Cromwell and his role in the epoch of the creation of the Church of England.

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Read an excerpt:

...Perseverance. He says, Her particular virtue may be tested. Cardinal Campeggio came here with a brief from Rome to obstruct. Obstruct and delay. Do anything, but avoid giving judgment. Anne is always writing letters, or writing in her little book. She walks up and down, up and down. When she sees my lord father she holds up a palm to him, don't dare speak and when she sees me, she gives me a little pinch. Like Mary demonstrates an airy pinch, with the fingers of her left hand. Like that. She strokes the fingers of her right hand along her throat, till she reaches the little pulsing dip above her collarbone. There, she says. Sometimes I am bruised. She thinks to disfigure me. I'll talk to the cardinal, he says. Do. She waits. He needs to go. He has things to do. I no longer want to be a Boleyn, she says. Or a Howard. If the king would recognise my boy it would be different, but as it is I don't want any more of these masques and parties and dressing up as Virtues. They have no...