Synopsis
Hilary Mantel presents a masterful fictional revision of the court of King Henry VIII, as seen through the conniving eyes of Thomas Cromwell, the king's chief minister, who is often credited with engineering England's break from the Church of Rome. History has often portrayed Cromwell as a selfish opportunist who reaped enormous personal riches by parlaying the king's lust for Anne Boleyn into a seismic political and religious shift, now known as the English Reformation. Mantel provides details of Cromwell's childhood, which was marked by abuse and poverty, and his education among the merchants of Italy, where he learns the intricacies of political intrigue. She also fills in the context of his rise to power, which was indeed based on his support of Henry's decision to declare himself the head of the English Church in order to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Mantel garnered the coveted 2009 Man Booker Prize for this riveting historical epic.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2009-10-13 |
| Size | | Length: | 532 pages | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 29.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Assuming the power recently lost by the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell counsels a mercurial Henry VIII on the latter's efforts to marry Anne Boleyn against the wishes of Rome and many of his people, a successful endeavor that comes with a dangerous price. By the Hawthornden Prize-winning author of Eight Months on Ghazzah Street. 40,000 first printing.
Industry Reviews
"[A]s soon as I opened the book I was gripped. I read it almost non-stop. When I did have to put it down, I was full of regret the story was over, a regret I still feel. This is a wonderful and intelligently imagined retelling of a familiar tale from an unfamiliar angle--one that makes the drama unfolding nearly five centuries ago look new again, and shocking again, too."
(04/25/2009)
"Mantel captures the atmosphere of the times and brings to life the important players..."
(08/17/2009)
"[B]eautifully written and terrifying fiction....This is a splendidly ambitious book, ample enough to hold a crowd of people and to encompass historical events across all of Europe....I wait greedily for the sequel, but WOLF HALL is already a feast."
(04/26/2009)
"WOLF HALL succeeds on its own terms and then some, both as a non-frothy historical novel and as a display of Mantel's extraordinary talent. Lyrically yet cleanly and tightly written, solidly imagined yet filled with spooky resonances, and very funny at times, it's not like much else in contemporary British fiction. A sequel is apparently in the works, and it's not the least of Mantel's achievements that the reader finishes this 650-page book wanting more."
(05/02/2009)
"[An] arch, elegant, richly detailed biographical novel....Ms. Mantel's velvet-gloved delivery of...devastating observations, her book's broad historical sweep and her counterintuitive choice to make Cromwell its primary focus...have helped make WOLF HALL a widely favored contender for this year's Man Booker Prize...
(10/04/2009)
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