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

Cromwell: Hero or villain?

Excellent book, but remember that it is a work of fiction. Thomas Cromwell turns into a likable character in this book. For balance, I'd also recommend reading or listening to The Tudors, by G.J. Meyer, a nonfiction book that depicts Thomas Cromwell as, well, not so likable.

Lives up to the hype and then some

Zadie Smith called Hilary Mantel the finest novelist working today, and when you read this you'll know why. Her command of the dense and intricate plot is complete, her dialog scintillating and very funny, and Simon Slater turns maybe the greatest performance of an audiobook since Jeremy Irons read "Lolita." You must read this. In my opinion, the story is better than the sequel "Bring up the Bodies", Simon Slater is MUCH, MUCH more talented than the much lauded Simon Vance. It is criminal that Slater was not selected to do the two sequels to this novel.

Also criminal: ALL of Mantel's other fantastic novels are available on audible.co.uk, but only this and the sequel are available in the US. That's excruciating torment for anybody who's come to love this writing. Audible, step up and get "A Place of Greater Safety" ready for download this month, or allow us to join audible.co.uk!

Read your history before your historical fiction

This is a first person narrative from the point of view of Thomas Cromwell, and he assumes you are familiar with life and politics in Tudor England of Henry VIII. Now, there are people who fill this requirement because they are fascinated by this period and have read every work of historical fiction about it. My mom is one such. But if you aren't, I recommend you read the wikepedia entries on Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, and Thomas More.

engrossing

I usually skip the portion of art museums dedicated to 16th century English art and furniture, and have never otherwise thought that period of history to be particularly interesting, so I was pleasantly shocked to find myself fully engaged by this mesmerizing story. Mantel's characterization was impeachable. The events that rock the church and state of England, even of Europe, are fascinating. After finishing the book,I felt as though I'd lived through the events myself, and I have a newfound appetite for learning more about the real history behind the book.

One minor complaint- what is up with the ambiguous use of pronouns? It drove me a little nuts and made the book more difficult to follow. Even the narrator became confused, every now and then reading the wrong character's voice.

When unclear, "he" usually referred to Cromwell, so here's one possible explanation: consistently using "he" while referring to Cromwell when other characters are present in a scene emphasizes Cromwell's prominence and centrality to the story. This is kind of like saying "The City" when referring to New York, even if you live in Jersey and Philadelphia is equally close. Does Mantel capitalizes it as "He" in the text? That would support this theory.

Although the narrator was initially off-putting due to his breathy, almost sinister reading, he eventually won me over. I am still not certain if Thomas More deserved as villainous a voice as the reader chose to use.

Wolf Hall

This is a wonderful work of language and history. The author brings the history of the period to life and gives a new view of Thomas Cromwell and Thomas More. The reader is excellant and really makes you pay attention.

Mixed experience

What did you like best about Wolf Hall? What did you like least?

The narration was superb. The characters were richly drawn. The story, however, dragged on much too long, and in the end, I was not particularly interested in Henry's dilemma of wanting a new wife

What was most disappointing about Hilary Mantel’s story?

It took a long time to develop and was ultimately about a rather mundane failed marriage. The characters were interesting in their time and place in history but shallow or undeveloped pshycologically.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening scenes of Cromwell's early life at home.

Was Wolf Hall worth the listening time?

ultimately no

Any additional comments?

I made it through 75% of the novel and finally realized that I didn't care about the characters and although the portrayal of the court in Henry's time was interesting (but very confusing to listen to), it wasn't worth continuing on. I kept waiting for the story to move beyond a guy who wanted to have a male heir but couldn't. Cromwell was very interesting but there wasn't enough of a story to sustain my interest. The narration, however, was incredible.

A Different Perspective on the Tudor Story

When a subject matter has been mined for story like the court of Henry VIII has, distinguishing yourself amongst the crowd is key. I still hold Margaret George's The Autobiography of Henry VIII as the gold standard, but Hilary Mantel gives us a perspective we rarely consider: that of Thomas Cromwell. That alone singles this work out and adds to the tapestry of all that's come before.

Cromwell is usually seen as a pitiless figure, and his due is rarely acknowledged, but Mantel paints an amazing portrait of a man who really does bring more to the story than most would otherwise give him credit. Not only are his skills brought in bearing, but so too is his personality, based on the facts of what we know about him. From a historical standpoint, Mantel's attention to detail is excellent, and she seems to have a gift for extrapolating people from cold facts. We get a look at Henry, the Boleyns, Woolsey, More, and all the rest through Cromwell's perspective, and while it's as pragmatic as you might expect, it's also quite insightful. At least, it is to me.

For readers being introduced to this era, I would suggest starting with Margaret George or perhaps with Alison Weir's biographies. This work assumes the reader is familiar with the power players and has a good bead on the basics. For those who are familiar with the story, this book provides another layer that offers what most people didn't know they missed. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, Bringing Up the Bodies.

Brings historical characters to life

Would you consider the audio edition of Wolf Hall to be better than the print version?

too long to read

What did you like best about this story?

Explained in an enjoyable way they complicated relationships of this time

Which scene was your favorite?

haven gotten there yet

Wonderful, engaging and beautifully read.

This was a marvelous rendition of one of my favorite books. I can't recommend this title enough, in written and audio form.

Unbelievable!

An absolute gift to lovers of great writing and reading. A wonderful, dense and rewarding novel read by a man clearly born to read it aloud to us. I can only marvel at this perfect match of great text and brilliant performance. Bravo! Double Booker Prize soon to be a triple!