Thomas Cromwell

The Untold Story of Henry VIII's Most Faithful Servant

By: Tracy Borman

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Thomas Cromwell has long been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power. As Henry VIII's right-hand man, Cromwell was the architect of the English Reformation, secured Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and plotted the downfall of Anne Boleyn, and upon his arrest, was accused of trying to usurp the King himself. But here Tracy Borman reveals a different side of one of the most notorious figures in history: that of a caring husband and father, a fiercely loyal servant and friend, and a revolutionary who helped make medieval England into a modern state.

Born in the mid-1480s to a lowly blacksmith, Cromwell left home at 18 to make his fortune abroad. After serving as a mercenary in the French army, working for a powerful merchant banker in Florence at the height of the Renaissance, and spending time as a cloth merchant in the commercial capital of the world, the Netherlands, Cromwell returned to England and built a flourishing legal practice. He soon became the protégé of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and then worked his way into the King's inner circle. As Henry's top aide, Cromwell was at the heart of the most momentous events of his time and wielded immense power over both church and state. His seismic political, religious, and social reforms had an impact that can still be felt today.

Grounded in excellent primary source research, Thomas Cromwell gives an inside look at a monarchy that has captured the Western imagination for centuries, and tells the story of a controversial and enigmatic man who forever changed the shape of his country.

©2014 Tracy Borman. Recorded by arrangement with Grove/Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

great narration...

exceptional, story telling...
fascinating period in hlstory,
starts where Hillary Mandel left off..
Cromwell, the real man for all seasons..

Cromwell

An excellent and very informing narrative. Tudor Englang cannot be understood without seeing both Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell and their idiisyncratic relationship.

Great story about a interesting man.

If you are a fan of midieval history you will love this book. great insight into the politics of Henry VIII court and politics.

intriguing history

This is an intriguing story of power and corruption. It's hard to imagine that the accused could be hauled off to the tower on the flimsiest evidence during 16th century Britain. In fact, the accused could be put to death by gruesome methods without the benefit of a defense. I learned a lot from this Audible book. I would like to add that a person must pay close attention to names in this reading in order to keep up with the narrative.

Very enlightening

I listened to this as a result of curiosity after watching "The Tudors" on Netflix. I wanted to know more about the subject and this reading did not disappoint. Thomas Cromwell was a complex figure during a time of very complex figures. His drives and motivation are very well explained. In the words of William Shakespeare he was an "ambitious man".

The story is well told and easy to listen. The voice of the reader is gentle yet very expressive.

Overall, an excellent listen.

Thank you!

Excellent

An amazing story. I highly recommend it to everyone interested in Tudor history. Enjoy

Interesting history of an interesting man.

Many will think this dry, but author interjects tidbits to keep it flowing.
voice actor was very capable, as well.

Engaging and well-researched

Books about statecraft can be dry but not this one! It’s a balanced, deeply-researched, and highly readable/listenable account of a fascinating and controversial man.

"Behind the Scenes" of Wolf Hall!

I came to appreciate the perspective of Thomas Cromwell through the fictional work of Hilary Mantle's Wolf Hall and the follow-up novel Bring up the Bodies. This drew me to this biography highly-touted and it did not disappoint!

This book combined with the perspective of Hillary Mantel and various other books that I've read has lent a broader perspective of the man who was or may have been Thomas Cromwell. I appreciated his Machiavellian approach to the world. It also gives me great pride to think that a man who came from nothing and yet achieved so much change in the world. He wasn't perfect. He was self described as a Ruffian, and I think that is appropriate. The days of protagonists being squeaky clean are over and I think that's appropriate. History is never squeaky clean.

I'm not a fan of revisionist history per say however I do believe that history should be revisited once new evidence is brought to light or new documentation reveals allows us to draw correlation and theorize a new direction for a person in history. Similar to Richard III, we are finding out so much that otherwise was left to propagandistic historical recording. Whereas today I think we try to use more factuality and are not scandalized as easily. I think the same has been allowed with Thomas Cromwell and I am glad for it because otherwise I would have believed he was a very foul human being otherwise.

Intriguing!

If you could sum up Thomas Cromwell in three words, what would they be?

A complex man.

What other book might you compare Thomas Cromwell to and why?

Any Tudor era book by Alison Weir.

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

No. His performance was fine.

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

Not really. This was easy to set aside but always interesting when resumed.

Any additional comments?

Of course I am familiar with tales of Cromwell contained within the larger story of Henry VIII. None of those, however, described in detail Cromwell's origins and early life, an interesting story all its own. My only disappointment with this book is a mild one. The author excuses Cromwell's later misdeeds on behalf of Henry VIII as being "pragmatic," as if practicality and self-promotion at the expense of others are acceptable means of getting ahead in life. I think ruining the lives of other people, particularly when it comes to torturing and executing them, exceeds the boundaries of pragmatism. There is ironic justice in the fact that Cromwell fell from his master's favor and was executed. Perhaps he recognized that irony during his last hours.