Wolf Hall

By: Hilary Mantel

Narrated by: Simon Slater

Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII's court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king's freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage.

With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Hilary Mantel (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

For History Buffs

Wolf Hall is a substantial commitment of time and patience. It describes the amazing rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in 16th century England. Although a fiction, it gives a strong factual foundation of historical events and attempts to unveil the insight into the psychology and brain of this extraordinary man. His relationship with his family, a series of personal tragedies, support of his mentor cardinal Wolsey and ultimately the relationship with Henry VIII (the one with many wives) and the Boleyn family are described from the Cromwellls perspective.

At the end I felt historically enriched, but the book did not leave a lasting impression, which is unfortunate after 24 hours of listening...

Amazing performance

What did you like best about this story?

Even though it is a story familiar to most, the perspective of Cromwell gives Henry VIII and his break from Rome a new twist. Cromwell is so clever, ambitious and flawed that he reminds me of one of my favorite fictional characters - Tyrion Lannister.

What about Simon Slater’s performance did you like?

One of the best performances. With so many characters to keep track of, Simon Slater does a wonderful job of making each voice distinct and genuine.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sure -but way too long. Despite it's length, I was sad when it was over.

If Only History Was Like This in High School....

While it is hard to imagine, I was sorry to have this book end, even after 24 hours of narration. And that was even more surprising because, like others, I had a hard time in the beginning of the story becoming engaged. I needed some time to hear the rhythm of Simon Slater's voice and sort through the characters, but very soon I was engrossed in both the story and the performance. I found myself stealing away to listen more to the story and couldn't wait until my next session with Simon as Cromwell, Henry, and the rest of the characters. The story is the perfect balance between fiction and history. I learned a lot about Henry and the period that he seeks a divorce from Catherine, but was never bored. I do wish I had printed out the list of characters - it would help with following the story. I highly recommend this selection. I am only disappointed that there wasn't other books narrated by Simon Slater that I am interested in.

The narrator should be nominated....

The narrator should be nominated for an Oscar. He did perfect justice to the text containing an enormous amount of singular characters. One can only try to imagine how the author, Hillary Mantel, put together this complex character study and history and made it come so alive. Bravo!

Book of the Year

Would you listen to Wolf Hall again? Why?

The Tudors leave Hitler in the dust when it comes to brutality.

What did you like best about this story?

Egos are best left in the closet when it comes to the English Monarchy.

Have you listened to any of Simon Slater’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Excellent performance and might be the best performance in Audible history.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Timidity in good men actually drive history.

Any additional comments?

Thank goodness Princess Diana watered down the genetics of the Windsors.

Well built characters

This book developed the characters well and provides an excellent view of the history of the period. A very enjoyable read.

political intrigue, yes please.

What did you love best about Wolf Hall?

All I can say is wow at how this story develops and yet stay incredibly interesting throughout.

Engaging

I had to remind myself that this is fiction. The performance made the distinction of each character easy to follow. And the story was engaging.

Meet Thomas Cromwell

I kept having to remind myself that this is a novel. But it is an historical novel, and Hilary Mantel seems to have researched the subject: Thomas Cromwell. The narration is wonderful, although it takes some time to get used to the tense, and the various characters.

I plan to read the print version, which should list any references cited by the author. The audio version introduced the characters and the subtle humor--of which there is a good deal--and I expect to enjoy the print version more because of it.

On to the sequel!

Five stars on all counts

Where does Wolf Hall rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to because it's such a fascinating, well-written literary achievement. Although exploring the mind and character of Thomas Cromwell, it has much to say to us today about the uses of political power and the clash of government and religion. The book's great strength is giving readers/listeners the view from inside Cromwell's mind---a very intelligent place to be. Hilary Mantel certainly deserved the Booker Prize for this book.

What about Simon Slater’s performance did you like?

Simon Slater captures a vast number of characters with his powerful and nuanced narration and he rendered perfectly the humanity and fierce intelligence of Thomas Cromwell, making me realize once again that audiobook narration is a high art that should be honored as such. I like Simon Vance too, but I wonder why Slater is not the narrator on the follow-up book to Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies. In any case, I'll look for Slater's work in the future and I'm grateful to have this one.