For many years I’ve felt ashamed about not having read “Wolf Hall”. I know it’s silly to feel shame about not reading or enjoying certain books even if they are some of the most critically acclaimed and lauded books of our time. There will always be great books I won’t have time to get to and I was initially put off from this novel because I started reading it when it was first published in 2009, but felt confused by the complicated politics of the Tudor period. It can feel tedious reading certain historical novels where I have to frequently put the book down to look up the meaning of a certain person or event on Wikipedia to feel like I really understand what’s going on in the story. So after about 150 pages I put it aside and didn’t go back to it. But, now with the third book of Mantel’s trilogy coming out soon, I felt it’s time to really immerse myself in it.
I’ve also greatly appreciated other books I’ve read by Mantel so she’s a writer I’m glad to make an effort for. This time I took steps to better prepare myself for it by reading the very detailed biography “Thomas Cromwell”. While I found MacCulloch’s book quite a bore it did give me an understanding of the most important people, events and politics portrayed in Mantel’s novel. So I read “Wolf Hall” straight through without stopping, even though the broader meaning of some scenes still went over my head. To my delight, it was a wonderfully enriching and enjoyable experience and I’m now eager to read more!
One thing that was really memorable for me the first time I tried reading “Wolf Hall” was the magnificent, emotional opening scene Mantel writes where Cromwell is a boy who has just been savagely beaten by his father. She captures the heart-wrenching physical and emotional pain of this incident. The image of Thomas as a vulnerable rejected young lad casts a shadow over the rest of his fascinating life and informs later scenes of the novel as Cromwell carefully navigates the choppy waters of court life, serving Henry VIII and being a key negotiator of the English Reformation.
It’s powerful how Mantel portrays his resilience, innate intelligence and ability to use his ingenious political skills to execute the King’s will where many of his predecessors failed. She describes how he understood better than most how to gather as much dirt on people as possible and how to use and ration out that knowledge in a way which would best benefit him and the people he represented: “A man's power is in the half light, in the half seen movements of his hand and the unguessed at expression of his face. It is the absence of facts that frightens people, the gap you open into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.” Because Cromwell came from relatively humble beginnings, his savvy ability to ascend to such prominence and become one of the most powerful men in England is impressive but he clearly never forgets where he came from and people of the royal court never let him forget his origins either.
It’s moving how Mantel occasionally writes Thomas recalling his boyhood and the threat of his father so much so that the long-dead patriarch takes on a ghostly presence in his life. In fact, there many hauntings in the novel from Henry dreaming of his dead brother and Thomas feeling the continued presence of his deceased wife Elizabeth. It feels like death is an ever-present spectre in this time period as Mantel describes continuous threats of deadly fever/plague and public executions. Given the fearsome prominence of these threats it’s no wonder that the author writes her characters as if they constantly tread the line between life and the after-life.
Mantel interweaves a wicked humour throughout the narrative as well. She portrays scenes where characters will darkly parody the downfall of others such as the arrest of Cardinal Wolsey or mockingly re-enact dramatic conversations. Late in the novel she even pokes fun at how English weather is notoriously grey and rainy when Cromwell reflects how he would have been a better man if the weather were better. This adds a wonderful levity to a story which is weighted with so much bloodshed and seriously reflects on a pivotal turning point in England’s history.
Towards the end of the novel I found it poignant how Mantel depicts the larger significance of the monumental changes of this time. Many fictional and historic accounts of the Tudors have revelled in the salacious scandal of Henry’s many wives and the political implication of England breaking from the church in Rome. But Mantel gets at subtler implications about where the general population would henceforth put their faith. The English Reformation forced people to choose if they would follow God or the King. This conflict obviously played out in many bloody battles, but also reverberated through the hearts of the entire nation. So I think it’s brilliant the complex way Mantel captures the larger psychological and social evolution to show how “England is always remaking herself.”
But, of course, the bulk of the story is made up of small moments and meetings between a few individuals who would steer the direction of the country: “The fate of peoples is made like this, two men in small rooms.” Through the dialogue of her characters Mantel shows the various powerplays at work, the promise of comradery or the making of enemies – when people will bend such as Henry Percy surrendering his engagement to Anne or when they will not bend such as Thomas More who refuses to plea for mercy. It’s especially exciting seeing what’s at stake in the meetings and exchanges between Cromwell and Anne Boleyn as well as Catherine of Aragon. And Jane Seymour appears in many scenes as well as if hovering in wait. Though this first novel only follows the tale up until the execution of Thomas More even I understand enough about the history to know that she will eventually become the third wife.
Admittedly, there were still sections of the novel which went over my head. Because of my ignorance about some of the intricacies of this historical period I wasn’t always certain about what events were taking place or who was being portrayed. There are many characters to keep track of and this can be especially difficult when so many are named Thomas, Mary or Henry. There’s even a semi-joke made at one point when Thomas becomes confused about whether Anne is talking about her sister Mary or Catherine’s daughter Mary I. But this didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the novel as I could follow the general progression of the story through the main players.
I’m glad I put in the effort to return to “Wolf Hall” because reading it was an exciting and rewarding experience overall. Even though I obviously know what larger events will happen in the second and third books because they are rooted in history, I’m very keen to see how Mantel further develops the characters she’s made out of these figures from the past. It’s strange to say, but I feel a deep tension now wanting to know what’s going to happen and how Cromwell will eventually meet his tragically inevitable conclusion.
