Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
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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