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

a wonderful book

This is a wonderful book, the best kind of historical fiction. It tells you a compelling story, makes you feel like you are more-or-less living in their time (intellectually), brings you along to sympathize even identify with the characters in their strange (to us) historical era. The narration is outstanding too. Kudos to the narrator.

My only complaint, a minor one to be sure, is keeping up with the characters, who they are and who they were historically. The book itself (like those old dusty 19th century historical fiction works by Tolstoy and others) has a character list at its front. I took a look at it at the bookstore, then I read some bios on wikipedia to get myself grounded. It helped that I already knew a good deal of 1500s English history, particularly about Henry VIII. So I am going to say with alittle aid like I describe above, readers should not be intimidated by a story that takes place in historical England 500 years ago.

Incidentally, this book won the Booker Prize, and well deserved it. I have already ordered (in book form) a 1990s historical novel by Hilary Mantel.

Wolf Hall

I love historical fiction and thought this is one of the best. Some knowledge of history may be helpful, but most people have heard about Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn, and will learn more about Thomas Cromwell (not to be confused with Oliver Cromwell). Simon Slater is a wonderful reader and I look forward to anything else he reads. I was absorbed in this from the beginning.

Excellent narration, excellent book

A riveting and sympathetic account of Thomas Cromwell, an historical figure from the time of England's King Henry VIII.

The narrator is excellent, and adds drama to the story. The underlying work is magesterial in its command of the details of life at that time.

Great detail & character dvlpmt, short on plot

Although I've read many historical texts, biographies and hovels from this period, I still found the author's historical details very intriguing. The writing style and perspective are a little unusual but interesting. Finally, Cromwell has been pulled from his 2 dimensional, bad guy, cut-out. But after 20 hours, I was very disappointed when I realized that the story wasn't going to cover as some highly significant historical events. Great character development which was never applied to more than a couple of drawn out crises.

Very good but hard to follow

The book is well done. It may be better to read it than to listen. Frequently, you are unsure who is speaking.

So worth it even if you've read the book

Don't hesitate and don't let the length put you off. When you are engrossed, time flies. I have previously read this book and it's sequel Bringing Up the Bodies. Listening to WH brought a whole new level of pleasure and also made the dialogue easier to follow. The narrator is a godsend. Take a bow, Simon Slater.

incredible writing ,musical listening.

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

I give the highest rating possible to the writer Mantel and the performance of Slater. This book is caused me to buy a kindle. Not only do I want to hear, I wanted to read and reread and listen again to the phrasing. How can she do this? How did she learn to write like this?? Can I say better than Shakespeare? at least, better than 99%. Hilary Mantel is gifted. I am in awe of her talent. I may get the hard copy.
I cannot understand why anyone would rate this less than perfect as well as Simon Slater characters' voices/ intonation. This is not for the light simple mystery or romance reader. This book deserves respect. This combination of Mantel and Slater is perfect.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There are many characters, and the PDF is a good reference. The cardinal's voice is so unique but befitting. One cannot help but favor Cromwell. His thinking and his behavior; and he leads the reader throughout.

What about Simon Slater’s performance did you like?

New to me, I loved Slater's voice. I am now following him and do hope more of his work will be available. Gifted, talented, impressive, I was very entertained. A sexy voice that I think slightly slurs, a quality I liked.. It's like listening to excellent short musical compostions.

Any additional comments?

Get this book. I have elevated my literary and history education by reading/listening; and it's great entertainment.

INCREDIBLE WRITING......BRILLIANT NARRATION

The author is descriptive, without being boring. You can visualize each character, each scene. The dialogue is captivating and impeccable. The gem of this recording is the brilliant narration. Simon Slater is simply amazing. He is able to switch characters, male and female, in different accents and languages, in an instant, smoothly and seemingly effortlessly.. I can honestly say, he is the best narrator I have ever heard and I will easily return a book if the narration is not good. I will say that the book would probably be easier to follow if the reader has some knowledge of the history of this period in England and of the figures involved as it can be difficult to differentiate between one character and another at some times. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Excellent

Great story, well told. The narrator did a wonderful job of portraying all the characters and the story galloped along at a great pace. I really did not want it to end!

Great Listen!

If your a fan of The Tudors then you will love this book. It's like a glimpse into the mind of Thomas Cromwell.