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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: $13.99 as of 3/11/2010 11:32 CST details You Save: $13.01 (48%)
Seller: writegifts2 Rating: reviews Sales Rank: 228
Media: Hardcover Edition: 1st American Edition Pages: 560 Number Of Items: 1 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8 Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.8
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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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780805080681 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
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
Product Description
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 power England 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.
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| Customer Reviews:
An Unexpected Delight! March 5, 2010 Soozie (Kihei, Hawaii) I'm not a usual fan of historical biography, but I was tempted after catching up with The Tudors. I was far from disappointed! This was the essence of showing, not telling, and really brought the age and the man alive. It was quite well-written, but it is in an unusual, possibly unique, style that delivers detail and nuance through an almost first person narration of observation. I'm looking forward to more....
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