THOMAS CROMWELL TRILOGY: Hilary Mantel
THOMAS CROMWELL TRILOGY
by Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell Trilogy is one of those works that only come along once in a generation to define and change literature. Beginning with Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall, the books follow Thomas Cromwell as he rises from humble beginnings to become Henry VIII’s Chief Minister. These are books of political intrigue, religious revolutions and supposed heresies. Power and sex are intertwined in the halls, as Cromwell tries to bend Henry’s women to the needs of the royal succession and maintenance of power. Mantel’s writing is delicious. Queens of history – Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour – come alive off the page. All fully formed, messy, selfish, cruel, complicated and passionate women. I love these books, I can dive in and Mantel’s writing magically washes my world away.
- Reviewed by Lindsay