Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

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Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel



                Thomas Cromwell, the son of a blacksmith, has risen to be the confidant of King Henry VIII. He has survived the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey and has slowly gained the king’s trust. Thomas is pivotal to the king’s plan to annul his marriage to Queen Katherine and marry Anne Boleyn. He is assuring titles, collecting debts and secrets from those privy to the chambers of the dukes and maidens of the court. How did this man of lowly status rise to such power? It is Thomas that people seek out when they want the king’s favor. It is to him that Katherine makes her case in hopes it will reach the kings ear. It is Thomas that even Lady Mary, the girl who was once a princess, states her case in defying, Queen Anne and Princess Elizabeth. As the years passed he played his cards right to make sure he never ended up at the Tower where treason would cause the heads to roll of those who were once trusted by the king.
                I thought I would love this novel since I have been infatuated with King Henry VIII and his six wives. So much happened in this period of history that I just find overwhelmingly fascinating. This retelling of that history through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, who was constantly in the background plotting and making deals, I thought would be gold. I thought wrong. I was bored out of my mind throughout most of this books waiting for the reappearance of Henry, Anne, even Mary Boleyn, who I found all more fascinating than Thomas Cromwell. Was he devious? Yes, and that would have been fine if he wasn’t lost in all of the excess information throughout the pages.

                Wolf Hall honestly just seemed drawn out. It is the first book in a trilogy and I’m just not sure Cromwell’s story lends itself well to that. Mantel’s writing style didn’t help either. Many of the characters were poorly developed and I was never sure how much emotion I should devote to any of the characters, since so many were in and out of Cromwell’s present. I just got irritated and had a really hard time staying interested. I literally started a countdown in my head near the end of the book of how many pages I had left. I was waiting with bated breath for action and it was slow coming. Was this story well researched? Sure, but this telling simply didn’t hold my interest. I give it 2 out of 5 stars. After reading this one I am not at all encouraged to keep reading the trilogy. 

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