Bring Up the Bodies

A Novel

By: Hilary Mantel

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2012

The sequel to Hilary Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner and New York Times best seller, Wolf Hall delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn. Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice. At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason. To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne's head?

©2012 Hilary Mantel (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Good story

I enjoyed the narrator. story was well done and very enjoyable. I hope there is another book in the series

Another fantastic reading of a brilliant novel

Yet again the closely woven narrative that, this time, documents the decline and fall of 'the concubine' is utterly enthralling in both the writing and performance. Double Booker Mantel is peerless in her command of the language and the form; while Vance performs with flawless aplomb.

I never thought I'd say it...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Thomas Cromwell, a renaissance man? If you are in any way interested in this period of history (Henry Tudor, his wives and his political advisors) you MUST listen to Simon Vance bring Master Secretary Cromwell to life....along with Henry himself, Anne Bolyen, Thomas Moore and all the other major characters in this amazing, real life saga.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bring Up the Bodies?

The way Mr. Vance was able to make me see Thomas Cromwell as a human being, not the self-serving politician he has always been presented as through history and fiction. Every moment he spoke as Cromwell I felt even more sympahty for him.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

pretty much everything, even his portrayals of women

If you could take any character from Bring Up the Bodies out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would give anything for Master Secretary Cromwell to invite me over for a glass of wine and a chat about intrigue.

Outstanding story and performance !

Great novel, filled with many interesting characters. The narrator did a fantastic job of voicing the characters. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Well read. Enjoyed the narrator’s different voices.

Excellent story. The characters entirely credible, and the reader is rooting for Cromwell, a sympathetic bad guy.

THE PLAY'S THE THING

“Bring Up the Bodies” fictionally recreates the history of King Henry the VIII’s schism with the Roman Catholic Church. Hilary Mantel writes the story of Anne Boleyn’s demise and Thomas Cromwell’s role as the King’s henchman in separating Boleyn’s head from her body. Mantel’s “Bring Up the Bodies” reminds one of Hamlet’s “The play’s the thing!” which will out the truth.

Anne Boleyn is never characterized as a weak, simpering woman but as a passionate, calculating, and forceful female that refuses to be cowed by the King, Cromwell, or her lascivious and narcissistic family. She hates like a man but uses her feminine allure to seduce a King and transfix a multitude of suitors.

Mantel shows that Henry the VIII is the dominant force in decisions made in England but the instrument of execution for the King’s decisions is the brilliant, irreligious pragmatist and tactician, Thomas Cromwell. Mantel’s first book, “Wolf Hall”, sets the stage for Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power; Mantel’s second book “Bring Up the Bodies” is the play, with Cromwell as the main actor, the Queens as supporting actresses, and noblemen as bit-players; with the King as producer and director.

Do people ever really change?

Any additional comments?

Wow! Just wow. This is a really great series that explores the personality maturation of one of histories most enigmatic figures, Thomas Cromwell. Without being pretentious, inflated, or self-indulgent, Mantel is able to build out and expose the potential evolution of Thomas Cromwell from blacksmith's son to Henry VIII's chief minister. I recommend this series to everyone.

Will there be a third?

I am so glad this is on audio. Trying to read Mantel's style is difficult but listening to it on audio is superb. I get the details of the writing with the fantastic narration of Simon Vance. Now, what happens next? Will we learn of Cromwell's ultimate fate in a third book? Pretty please???

Performance Art

Would you consider the audio edition of Bring Up the Bodies to be better than the print version?

I did not read "Bring Up the Bodies" in Print. I did read "Wolfe Hall" the first of the trilogy and was captured equally by the prose and the character development. I loved the reading by Simon Vance. Its a bit like modern Shakespeare.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bring Up the Bodies?

There were many, the execution of Anne Boleyn, told from the perspective of the one who did her in and knew her well was a chilling masterpiece of dispassionate observation. One could feel the force of the resistance of any compassion.

Which scene was your favorite?

Cromwell and Katherine verbally jousting. Their characters were finely honed by this interaction

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was such a dispassionate recounting of a story repeatedly told that it opened my senses to the grinding of history, the rise and fall of champions and the superficial and transitory nature of glory and riches. It left me with a cold and detached perspective on life that stayed with me for days.

Any additional comments?

I am in love with HIlary Mantel's use of language and how dramatically readable it is. The cold dispassionate ruminations of Cromwell as he tells his story and those around him reveal a full character for whom I ultimately felt compassion. It is worthy of the great masters of English drama and could stand alone as a performance art piece.

Slater for young TC, Vance for Older?

I've just started listening to BUTB -- and I immediately feel something is missing. It is Simon Slater's ability not only to play up Cromwell's tenderness and regrets (as another reviewer mentions), but also (just by his tone of voice?) to underline Cromwell's modern-seeming, stepped-back distance from the events around him. As I read Wolf Hall, I felt that Mantel was portraying Cromwell as an early incarnation of a 20th century man, which gave me a truly new perspective on the much-told story of Henry VIII. Perhaps Slater was not available to read BUTB, or perhaps the choice of Vance was intentional. Maybe More's death has aged Cromwell and hardened him. In the early pages of BUTB, Cromwell no longer can summon his feelings of attraction to Jane Seymour, and his dead wife and daughters have become blood-soaked falcons intent only on prey. Perhaps the chill of Vance's narration better suits this book. I'll find out.