Title: The Thomas Cromwell Trilogy
Rating: 5 Stars
I enjoy reading history. I enjoy reading fiction. You’d think that historical fiction would be right up my alley. Oddly, this does not appear to be true. It’s possibly the same problem that I have with science fiction. I find that science fiction often has too much science in it to the neglect of fictional elements like characters and plot. Historical fiction sometimes seem to be so impressed with its recreation of the historical period in question that I find it a bit tedious to actually read. Not all of your research needs to end up in the book.
You’d think that I’d have that problem in spades with Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about King Henry VIII’s right hand man, Thomas Cromwell. The three books, in total, are some two thousand pages long. Although it does describe Cromwell’s entire life in some detail, most of the two thousand pages concerns the ten year period when Cromwell rose to his position of prominence. It covers the time from when Henry forced an annulment on his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, to marry Anne Boleyn, which led to his break with the Catholic church; his subsequent disenchantment with Boleyn leading to her execution; to his third marriage to Anna of Cleves; and ultimately to Cromwell’s downfall and execution.
Spending two thousand pages to describe a ten year period seems like serious overkill. Don’t get me wrong. Mantel does not skip on the history or the pageantry of 16th century England. You get detailed descriptions of the court at work and at play, the inner mechanics of the papal schism, seemingly banal diplomatic intrigue, and important historical events from that period. All of that spread over two thousand pages seems as appealing as a root canal.
The amazing thing is that it works. The key to Mantel’s success is her characters. They simply leap off of the page fully formed.
I’ve never really heard of Thomas Cromwell before. If you do cursory research on him, he appears to be a dour Machiavellian fellow that, if anything, casts a dark shadow. In Mantel’s telling, he is vibrant. Coming from desperately poor beginnings, he is relentlessly (and ruthlessly) ambitious. He is smart and cunning. He seamlessly transitions from Cardinal Wolsey’s right hand man to King Henry’s equivalent, even though it was Henry that drove Wolsey to disgrace and to an early grave. Cromwell is loving to his family and, even a decade later, still grieving the early death of his wife and daughters. Men of no breeding but brimming with ambition attach themselves to him. Under his tutelage, many of them rise to high positions. He is a force of nature.
That’s one of the reasons why I was a little reluctant to read The Mirror and the Light. Wolf Hall is all about the fall of Wolsey and Cromwell’s beginning ascent as he masterminds Henry’s annulment to Katherine so that he can marry his (current) true love, Anne Boleyn as he desperately tries to sire a male heir. Bring Up The Bodies is the period from his marriage to Boleyn to her execution. In the Mirror and the Light, Cromwell reaches the apex of his power, and in so doing lays the seeds of his destruction. Cromwell is such a formidable character that I was not looking forward to the tale of his fall. I didn’t need to worry. Cromwell’s arrest, interrogation, and execution is told in a compelling manner.
This is not to say that Cromwell is the only interesting character in this trilogy. Nearly all characters are well drawn. This is true of both major characters like King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Thomas More; as well as minor characters. Cromwell’s interactions with his major proteges like his son Gregory, his nephew Richard, Rafe Sadler, Thomas Wriothesley, and Christophe are, at turns, touching, amusing, and always natural. Even relatively minor characters like Martin, the gaoler at the Tower of London are drawn with care. Be forewarned that there are a lot of characters. Each book starts with a cast of characters. You will be consulting it regularly.
As a history geek, the depth of description of both historical characters and historical events led me many times to internet research. Nearly all characters that she references are real. Most events described happened. It was fascinating to contrast the dry pure historical record with the literary license that Mantel took. I can definitely say that I now know way more about the life and times of King Henry VIII than I did before.
My one criticism of it is that she treats names in an occasionally confusing manner. Much like Russian novels where there are first names, last names, patronymic, and nicknames interchangeably strewn throughout the text, it can be confusing. Sometimes people are referred by their title, sometimes they are referred by their name, and sometimes by their royal responsibility (eg Master of the Rolls). This can be rough, but it gets especially treacherous when someone like Cromwell has multiple responsibilities. Mantel also adopted the practice, when using the pronoun he, to always mean Cromwell. This can be confusing when there’s a conversation between five men and she throws in ‘he said’. You just learn that, of all of the men, she means Cromwell. It’s a bit tough getting used to, but eventually you adjust.
It’s a big undertaking, but I’d strongly recommend that you at least read Wolf Hall. You might find yourself a convert to historical fiction after all.
dorkenstein 