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Wolf Hall: A Novel (Man Booker Prize) |  | Author: Hilary Mantel
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Category: Book
List Price: $27.00
Buy Used: $4.34
as of 9/3/2010 05:50 CDT details
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Seller: pionerbooks
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 4039
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First U. S. Edition
Pages: 560
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.7
ISBN: 0805080686
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780805080681
ASIN: 0805080686
Publication Date: October 13, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780805080681 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, October 2009: No character in the canon has been writ larger than Henry VIII, but that didn't stop Hilary Mantel. She strides through centuries, past acres of novels, histories, biographies, and plays--even past Henry himself--confident in the knowledge that to recast history's most mercurial sovereign, it's not the King she needs to see, but one of the King's most mysterious agents. Enter Thomas Cromwell, a self-made man and remarkable polymath who ascends to the King's right hand. Rigorously pragmatic and forward-thinking, Cromwell has little interest in what motivates his Majesty, and although he makes way for Henry's marriage to the infamous Anne Boleyn, it's the future of a free England that he honors above all else and hopes to secure. Mantel plots with a sleight of hand, making full use of her masterful grasp on the facts without weighing down her prose. The opening cast of characters and family trees may give initial pause to some readers, but persevere: the witty, whip-smart lines volleying the action forward may convince you a short stay in the Tower of London might not be so bad... provided you could bring a copy of Wolf Hall along. --Anne Bartholomew
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| Customer Reviews:
 "Princes are not obliged to consistency." August 31, 2010
Luan Gaines (Dana Point, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In her latest novel, Mantel has captured the spirit of the rebellion against the Church and a pope who will not bow to pressure and annul the marriage of Henry VII and Katherine of Aragon. It is only by this means that Henry can legally wed Anne Boleyn, the woman in whom he has invested his hopes of son and heir. Once enjoined, the battled is waged for years, one of the most significant players the base-born Thomas Cromwell, a lawyer of great talent, with the wit to appreciate the nature of this clash of wills. Henry will have his way: it is only a matter of when and at what cost. As the battle lines are drawn, Cromwell provides the perspective of a self-made man, trained in politics through his years in service to Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York. Although Wolsey will eventually fall before the weight of Henry's demands, Cromwell proves an avid student in the matter of politics and power, the dangers of ambition. He is quietly outraged by the cruelty of those who execute the details of Wolsey's fall from grace. A master of words and reason, Cromwell earns his reputation honestly, in thrall to no belief save the constructs of the law.
The cast of characters and political events are impressive, from the petulant Henry to the scheming Boleyn's, courtiers vying for favor in Henry's court, the stubborn and righteous nature of Thomas More, pursuer of heretics, the never-ending machinations on behalf of Katherine of Aragon's interests. Certainly the interpretation of God's will plays a major part in men's arguments regarding the resolution of Henry's "Great Matter". While the king impatiently waits for word from Rome, More lays siege to the king's arguments, counting all of Christendom and the saints on his side. Meanwhile, Cromwell guides the affairs of a king he has grown to love, befriending the clever Anne Boleyn, who burns with the desire to be Henry's queen. While reason and logic prevail- thanks to Cromwell's efforts- the Church endures, time the pope's greatest weapon.
Mantel's portrayal of Thomas Cromwell is nothing short of brilliant, his worldview shaped by experience and reason, balancing the strengths and limitations of friend and foe, whether Anne Boleyn, lifelong adversary Bishop Gardiner, the combative prelate Thomas More, who tortures both heretics and himself, relishing pain for God's sake, even the bitter Jane Rochford, jealous wife of Anne's brother, George, "lonely and breeding a savage heart". Cromwell is intimate with power, knowledgeable about finance, commerce and governance, feared and hated by many, but loved by those he has brought into his home. Cromwell's fate is yet unknown at the end of this superb novel, which culminates with the beheading of Thomas More. This tumultuous period of king vs. church is viewed through the eyes of a base-born man, the history of England forever changed by a willful Tudor king's determination to wrest his future from the domination of the Vatican. Luan Gaines/2010.
Compelling, with a sequel to come August 26, 2010
J. Marren (Glen Ridge, NJ USA)
"Wolf Hall" won the Booker Prize last year, and the prize was certainly well-deserved. One might wonder how the story of
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn could ever be told with a new twist, but Mantel does it, by entering the mind of Thomas Cromwell. Based on my general knowledge of the period, Cromwell usually doesn't come off that well--he was ambitious and cutthroat,cimbing over men of higher rank to become the most powerful advisor to Henry, as the influence of his mentor Wolsey faded. In "Wolf Hall," Cromwell is just smarter, cannier and more resourceful than the others, who despise him for his lowly origins. Thomas More, on the other hand, a saint in the Catholic Church and quite popular in Catholic legal circles, is portrayed as a pinched, rigid dogmatist, who happily sends people to be burned at the stake in the service of his faith.
Mantel's writing is indeed complex, and the plot takes a lot of twists and turns. She interestingly varies the point of view of her main character without warning, moving seamlessly from Cromwell's internal dialog to the view of the omniscient narrator, which can be confusing but also gives the reader the sense of both inhabiting Cromwelll's thoughts and observing him from afar. Mark the table of characters in the front; you'll need it. But I loved the book, and eagerly await the sequel.
 Wolf Hall: One Heavy Book August 22, 2010
Patricia A Austin (Port Townsend, WA USA)
Good read to get a sense of Thomas Cromwell in conflict with Sir Thomas More and as elevated by Henry VIII. Character of Cardinal Wolsey is rich. Wolf Hall is tricky in pronouns as many uses of "he" refer to Cromwell without clear references, sometimes slowing down the read and as some dialogue is in quotes, much not, and reference not always clear without my doubling back to re-read. I'd call it an eccentric style. Descriptions of place and clothing are good. There are many nifty details such as Alice sewing up edges of Cromwell's letters to insure secrecy and no peeking. Drawing character of Henry VIII dissatisfied me because I had recently followed "The Tudors" on HBO. Hillary's Henry seemed undeveloped. Anne Boleyn and her relatives were convincingly drawn but I was very glad to have a chart of names. Overall and nonetheless it was a compelling read, supported by my familiarity with "Man for All Seasons" and countless movie and BBC versions of the period. I hoped it would end with the drama of Cromwell's arrest (How did he fall out of favor?) or at least Anne's (How did she finally fall out of favor) and at least somebody's beheading. For this, "The Tudors" was superior. As an Episcopalian I was very interested in the politics leading to the split with the Roman Pope. Still I couldn't stop reading for four days and felt bereft afterward, wishing there were more chapters or a volume two.
A refreshing take August 18, 2010
I. Schneider (MT, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was a beast of epic proportions. I don't know if I can recommend this book to people who don't know much about the Tudors. It'll have you diving for facts and wondering who the main players are. Thankfully, the Tudors are one of my favorite royal families, so the fact diving was kept to a minimum. I also read it on my Kindle which was a Godsend when I wanted to highlight something. I'll share a couple of my favorite passages with you.
Unfortunately, since I did read this on my Kindle, I can't give you specific page numbers.
This quote is Thomas Cromwell (the main character) talking about Anne Boleyn, the King's new love interest. Just some quick background info.... Anne Boleyn became Henry VIII's second wife after his divorce from Katherine of Aragon. She was a liberal Catholic, meaning she leaned a bit more Protestant than most in a time when Catholicism was king. She was the mother of Elizabeth I. And, due to smear campaigns, it is said she had a sixth finger (never ever been proven). The author, Mantel, uses this rumor in such a great way in this book. Anne had developed these huge sleeves and hid her hands in them (hence the sixth finger rumor). Cromwell is referring to her habit of doing this in this quote:
"It is so much a habit with her that people say she has something to hide, a deformity; but he thinks she is a woman who doesn't like to show her hand."
Another favorite quote that doesn't require more info:
"Well,' Rafe says, 'let us run up and down Cheap: Thomas Cramner has a secret, we don't know what it is!'"
"Tell him to go north, or I will come where his is and tear him with my teeth!'
'May I substitute the word 'bite?'"
And the last quote that I really liked isn't really funny but just good. Cromwell is talking about Thomas More (the famous author of Utopia) and how he will use his connections on the Continent to make it seem like More is the victim in all the proceedings against him (it's extraordinarily complicated, and I can't give enough information here. A couple good sites to go to get more info would be [...] or the Goodreads Tudor Group.)
"And sending it out of the kingdom to be printed. Depend upon it, in the eyes of Europe, we will be the fools and oppressors, and he will be the poor victim with the better turn of phrase."
I seriously cannot recommend this book enough. It won the Man Booker Award in 2009. Let me warn you, it's incredibly difficult to get into. Just bear in mind that most of the "he"'s in the book are Cromwell and it should be an easier read. Once I had figured this out, I couldn't put the book down!
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