It has been a while since the second novel of this Thomas Cromwell trilogy was published and it takes a bit of effort to get back into to Mantel’s unusual style.
It can be difficult sometimes to work out who is speaking, compounded by extended passages of Cromwell’s thoughts, memories and even dreams.
It begins immediately after Bring Out the Bodies finishes, in the aftermath of Anne Boleyn’s execution and the instant marriage of King Henry VIII to Jane Seymour.
The almost 900 pages of dense, 16th century politics is surprisingly easy to read once you get into the rhythm of it.
Cromwell is a fascinating character. Was he an avaricious schemer and social climber? A religious and social reformer? A power-hungry manipulator? Possibly all of the above.
Revenge appears to have been his great motivator; he was a loyal friend; a great mentor to young men; kind to children and a collector of enemies.
Mantel transports readers into the heart and mind of the 16th century’s most astute politician, until he wasn’t.
Class was to be Cromwell’s downfall; even those who greatly benefitted from his policies resented his extraordinary social mobility and worked actively to undermine him.
The second half of the book flags a little, with rather too many lingering memories that add little to the illumination of Cromwell’s character or the steps that lead to his downfall. This may be because they unnecessarily elongate the path to the inevitable.
Mantel paints a picture of Cromwell as a true renaissance man, ahead of his time in many ways that became his undoing. As such he elicits sympathy, despite his many faults, not least for surviving and thriving for 10 years in the service of a most capricious king.
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