Historical
Hilary Mantel takes past events and places from the days of Henry VIII and tells them in the form of a story from the viewpoint of Thomas Cromwell, a man who would rise from the son of a blacksmith to be the chancellor of England. It’s a powerful and gripping story set predominantly during the turbulent days leading up to and after King Henry’s divorce from…
…his first wife, Catherine.
The writing style will strike you first. It’s very distinctive with it’s curious use of “he” when referring to Cromwell. The second thing that will strike you are the characters – real people fleshed out in very believable detail. It could have been all too easy to make Henry VIII a caricature of himself even in a subtle way but that is not the case here. As an all powerful monarch, and tyrant, he is quite believable, all the more so by his charismatic and polite exterior which one often feels is a mask of his true self. More than once we are left wondering what exactly is on his mind even if we already know what happens from our knowledge of English history.
Cromwell’s rise from a rough childhood in the house of a London blacksmith to being one of the most powerful men in England makes for some of the most fascinating character building. On top of that we are witness through his eyes to people and events that greatly influenced the history of England. All of this tied with a unique though very good writing style makes this an intriguing book to read.
Score: 4 / 5
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