A Review by Louise Blake
I had to deliberately slow down my reading of Wolf Hall because I just did not want it to end. I was transported to 16th Century London and experienced all the characters in living colour. Many of us will be familiar with the names: Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Wolsey, the Duke of Norfolk, Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. However, Hilary Mantel breathes life into these famous names from history and from her pages they become three dimensional. The protagonist is Thomas Cromwell. Here is someone, unsure of his birth date, who ran away from his abusive blacksmith father when still a child, fought as a soldier for the French, went into trade and banking in Europe, returned to England and fell under the patronage of Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York. Through sheer hard work, iron will, charm and intellect, Thomas Cromwell became instrumental in reshaping England to reflect Henry VIII’s desires. I couldn’t help but admire the character and even sought out the portrait of Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein. I savoured every page and twist and turn of this tale. If you enjoy historical fiction, history or just a darn good read, then choose Wolf Hall.
