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

The Magnificent Wolf Hall

A delicious confection of a book. How I love it. It takes a special writer to breathe exquisite life into an over-familiar tale. And the prose is in the present tense, which I usually find annoying. But this book just leaves me begging for more.

Edge-of-my-seat listen

I have read many, many novels about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and enjoyed most; however none have I listened to with such joy, excitement, and anticipation. Simon Slater did an excellent job, his performance kept me breathlessly waiting for the next moment. I was hesitate to buy Wolf Hall because I read it in print. This listening experience made me appreciate Mandel's beautifully written novel. Love, Luv luv it.

Revealing

Tho this work is historical fiction, the basic history is apparently accurate. This is my favorite & most interesting way to learn history.

Wow! So much better than the book.

The audio brings this story and the author's style to life. I could not read the print version because of the lack of quotation marks and other odd grammatical vehicles, though the prose is excellent. Too distracting. But not so with the audio. Vance does the author justice and puts Cromwell smack in your head. I have seen a different side to Cromwell and enjoyed this well-researched, well written story of King Henry VIII's advisor. Brilliant.

A Great Instructional Book on How to Make Friends and Keep Your Heads

I would listen to Wolf Hall at night in bed imagining each character in front of me playing their part, from Cromwell to Wossely to Anne to Henry to Moore. Tragic but delightful!

One of the best

I’m an avid consumer of everything Wolf Hall- the tv show, the books, and the audio books. All perfect. I’ve probably listened to this series fifty times. The narration in this book of the series transforms what is a wonderful book into perfection. I wish the entire series had used this actor. Highly recommend.

Had to WORK to stay awake...

Would you try another book from Hilary Mantel and/or Simon Slater?

There could not possibly be a more boring perspective from which to tell the dynamic happenings of Henry VIII's court than that of Thomas Cromwell. In this telling, Cromwell is just a work-a-day secretary/ attorney to Henry. So it's like hearing about say, JFK's presidency from his executive assisant. It is interesting but I cannot fathom the people who say they LOVE this book. I love this time period so I stayed committed despite putting it down and getting lost innumerable times.

What three words best describe Simon Slater’s voice?

He is pretty good.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was a new perspective on a much told tale.

Excellent Story and Performance

This is an amazing book, the voice of Thomas Cromwell sounds so authentic, I wonder if she is a time traveler. This book captivated me, his manner of speaking, his comportment; his entire being is there as if he were speaking to you. Hilary Mantel’s tour de force is matched by Simon Slater’s performance. I felt transported to the Henry the Eighth’s England, and now that I have finished the book, I have a hard time leaving it. This is a book I will listen to again and again, it is so rich in content I will gladly revisit it and glean more for the author’s command of people and history, and the narrator’s stellar performance. I recommend this listen with no reservations.

Great writing but oh so tedious...

Hilary Mantel is a fab writer her craft and description a 10...but ugh such a long tedious venture-z-z-z.

Confused Character

Would you listen to Wolf Hall again? Why?

Not of this performance.

Would you be willing to try another one of Simon Slater’s performances?

Probably not.

Who was the most memorable character of Wolf Hall and why?

Mantel's revisionist view of Cromwell is the heart and soul of the text. More and Henry VIII are distant secondary characters.

Any additional comments?

Slater would often time confuse voices or inflect no voice difference where he had previously provided a distinct voice to a character. Consequently, the listener is often times unsure of who is speaking the text. Pauses were sometimes absent between conversations and even between chapters, adding to the confusion. This latter annoyance may have very well been the result of poor editing. Luckily, I had the text to follow, which helped to clarify the character placement. Anyone without a printed or e-copy of the book will likely run through spells of confusion.