Set in the turbulent reign of Henry VIII
this lengthy tome (600+ pages) follows the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell
from humble origins to the right hand of the King.
A talent for everything he puts his mind to –
fighting, languages, trade, banking and the law – makes him a useful man to
have around. As Cardinal Wolsey’s fixer he comes to the notice of the Court and
his political astuteness enables him to survive his patron’s downfall and
demise, ruined by an inability to get the King his divorce from Queen
Katherine.
That task eventually falls to Cromwell, and
a way is found to pave the way for Anne Boleyn to marry Henry, become his queen
and give him a (disappointingly female) child. Cromwell’s sure tread between
the King, his two queens, his nobles, other European powers, the Pope’s clergy
and Lutheran reformers is deft but deadly, as those who oppose his schemes end
up, after due legal process, impoverished, broken or just plain dead.
But it’s by no means all high politics,
Cromwell’s private life and personal motivations form much of the story; and
the ability to separate these from business may be the key to his success.
The style is distinctive, unusual in its
relentless delivery of Cromwell’s thoughts, words and actions; but there are
gaps, lacunae, for the reader to infer events and motives. Wits also need to be
sharp to unpick the often ambiguous use of the personal pronoun; ‘he’ is
usually, but not always, Cromwell even in a sentence that starts by featuring
someone else. And of course being medieval everyone has at least two names, one
personal (generally Thomas or Mary) and one titular (Duke of this or Lady that).
Another poser is the title of the book;
Cromwell never gets to Wolf Hall (home of the Seymours) though he is on his way
there as the book ends, so the follow-up ‘Bring up the Bodies’ now becomes a
must read.
None of the above detracts from, and some
may add to, the excellence of the Man Booker prize winning novel. It is compulsive
reading throughout and highly recommended.
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