Since my cat keeps insisting that she must be on my desk while I’m working, I put her to work as a book stand.
I say “finally” since I actually finished reading the book last fall and mentioned a few months ago that I was working on a review. I’ve had some notes sitting around for a while but I’m just now getting around to trying to put those notes into a coherent commentary (albeit a short one). I’ve purposely not read any other reviews of the book beyond the headlines and snippet that show up in my Google news alerts, but even from the little bit I’ve seen I don’t think I will be adding much to the discussion that hasn’t already been said.
When I first heard about “Wolf Hall” and the author’s choice of Thomas Cromwell as the central figure my first reaction was surprise. But, after I thought about it for a while, I decided it was a refreshing choice. I don’t read a whole lot of Tudor history fiction any more for a variety of reasons, so a book that takes a person who is often portrayed as a two-dimensional villain and gives him a humanizing third dimension was a welcome change. Cromwell received a similar treatment in “The Tudors” television series.
I’m sure other reviewers have remarked on Mantel’s decision to write the book in the present tense, something I thought at first would bother me. But, between the tense (which reads as almost stream-of-consciousness at times) and the atmospheric descriptions, I found myself quickly sucked in to the story. I have never read much on Cromwell’s life outside of his role at court, so the backstory of his youth and the inclusion of his family life was all new ground for me. I know that there are some gaps in our knowledge of Cromwell’s life, so now I’m curious as to what is history and what was filled in by the author’s imagination.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the book though was the wry humor throughout, the running joke of Thomas “Call Me” Wriothesley being just one example. When Thomas first comes in to the story he introduces himself: “My name is Wri-oth-es-ley, but wish to spare you the effort, you can call me Risley.” And pretty much every time after this he is referred to as “Call Me” or “Call Me Risley” (and I admit, I chuckled just about every time.)
If there is a negative to the book, I would say that it is not a “beginner” Tudor novel. A familiarity with the people and events of the period is helpful. (The book includes a five page cast of characters at the beginning, which is a good reference for those who don’t know the court of Henry VIII as well as most readers of this site probably do.) The only other negative that comes to mind – having to wait for the sequel!
Actually I must say that if I hadn’t seen The Tudors I would have been lost as apparently MOST Amazon reviewers were.
I was surprised that such a fun mini-series actually ADDED to my knowledge of the period in a significant way.
I CANNOT wait for the sequel.
The quality of historical fiction set in Tudor times has definitely gone downhill – too much written in first person, which I dislike. But Wolf Hall completely rises above that, though you’re right, the tense does take a bit of getting used to first. I loved the humour in it – the “Call Me Risley” parts pretty much had me giggling too! And while I’m an Anne Boleyn fan I actually quite liked her more shrewish portrayal here, it suited the overall tone perfectly. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that it ended too soon – I hope Hilary Mantel gets a move on with that sequel!
I agree that it made a nice change to have a portrait of Thomas Cromwell which made him out to be more than a Tudor comic-book villain (I really enjoy the Matthew Shardlake books, but Cromwell doesn’t come off well in them). In similar vein, it was very refreshing to have such a generous, human portrait of Wolsey, instead of the usual monster, and even better to see Thomas More being portrayed as something other than the flawless saint of so many hagiographies!
Is the cat’s name Wriothesley?
Ha! No, it’s Min – short for Minerva, as in McGonagall. 🙂
I’ve just finished reading this and, not being a great one for history myself, it was interesting to read a more educated appraisal of the novel. I must admit, I wondered how much of work was Mantel’s invention and how much was based in fact.
Either way, like you I found the humanising of the characters enjoyable, and Mantel’s vision of Tudor England; brutal, seductive, and very atmospheric.
My review: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Wasn`t Cromwell`s cat called `Marlinspike`? Anyway – I am just reaching the end of Wolf Hall and yes I have enjoyed it very much. Mantel has a vivid imagination and a wonderfully fresh style as well. I love finding out about history through great books like this one. I like to cross reference with wikipedia and I find that the material here is well researched with of course embellishment to make the narrative come to life.