Title: Wolf Hall 

Author: Hilary Mantel  

Genre:Historical Fiction   

Publisher: Harpercollins

Format: Paperback

Pages: 653

Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey’s clerk, and later his successor.

Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.

From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.

Review:

So this book was a disappointment for me. I love this subject matter, and I love historical fiction, but I was let down by this book. It was just boring. Maybe it’s because I know this time period so well, but it just did not intrigue me like I hoped it would.

The book revolves around Thomas Cromwell, who became a prominent member of the court of Henry the Eighth! The book looks at his childhood and how he rose to success. It also looks at his family life. The pacing of the book was just too slow for me, and I felt like the author didn’t connect me to the characters as much as I would have liked. Cromwell seemed cold and I felt like I couldn’t quite get inside the head of the main character in a way that I would have liked to. I’m not really sure what else was needed, but either way, I didn’t love it. I still enjoyed it because this is my favourite time period in history, but I probably wouldn’t add this one to your historical fiction TBR!

Happy reading!