1520. Inglaterra está a un paso del desastre. Si el rey muere sin un heredero varón, la guerra civil amenaza con destruir el país. Tras veinte años de matrimonio, Enrique VIII quiere divorciarse de Catalina de Aragón y casarse con Ana Bolena. Pero la oposición del papa y de la mayoría de las coronas europeas es tajante, y el rey, enfurecido, pone al límite al cardenal Wolsey, que no consigue el beneplácito de Roma.

NA ( )

A good book, but I felt it ended entirely too abruptly. I eventually got over the writer's quirk of referring to Cromwell constantly as only "he," and while the plot seemed to build, it cut off abruptly and not with the resolution or payoff I had expected. None the less, very good book about a fascinating character and fascinating time in English history. ( )

Started reading in April, but loan expired and couldn’t get it again until a couple weeks ago. Wonderful book. A lot I didn’t understand and certainly too many details to follow them all, but a great story told with an almost poetic rhythm. Would’ve been great to hear spoken aloud I think. Not sure I’m up for two more books of this but who knows?

PS If you’re concerned that it would be unsatisfying to read only the first book of a trilogy don’t worry in this case - this is absolutely a complete story in this book. It ends very elegantly and doesn’t tease with a cliffhanger. ( )

What a marvelous read…what a superb realization of another world and time. It took over all my senses and kept me riveted way past my bedtime. I didn't want it to end, and since the second volume is at least two years off, by the author's own estimate, I'm tempted to turn to the first page of Wolf Hall and start all over again.

There are reviews a-plenty, and they have covered most of my reactions to this novel. I share the frustration of some reviewers who found Mantel's use of the third person singular pronoun to be distracting at times. It's the reason I withheld that last half star (upon first reading it in 2010, that is. Gave the Folio edition that last half for utter stunning physical beauty). But I found that when I had uninterrupted reading time and became immersed in the story, I dealt with that issue subconsciously. I did have to take a break from reading Wolf Hall over the holidays, when my free time came in splinters; this book just can't be well read in snatches. I needed to do some cramming early on to get all the characters straight in my head, but I didn't mind that. And although I only noticed one other person mentioning it, it puzzles me why this volume is titled "Wolf Hall".

I loved the bits of wry humor scattered throughout the novel. When Queen Anne, shortly after miscarrying, learns that her sister Mary, latterly (or not so latterly?) mistress to the King, is now pregnant, her reaction is volcanic. Cromwell thinks to himself, "If Anne were my wife, I'd go out for the afternoon." When Cromwell tells his son Gregory that Holbein's portrait makes him look like a murderer (he really does, have you seen that picture?), Gregory's mild response is "Didn't you know?". Brilliant. Despite that murderer's aspect, according to Holbein a multitude of women want to marry Cromwell: "The wives of England, they all keep secret books of whom they are going to have next when they have poisoned their husbands. And you are the top of everyone's list." And in dreadfully serious conversation about Thomas More's fate with Alice More, this exchange: "You have been good to us," she says, reluctant. "I ask myself why. You always have some trick." "Born tricky," he says. "Can't help it."

Written January, 2010

ETA: Listened to this on audio in 2020. Loved that too. ( )