To paraphrase another reviewer: just when you think that no novel or film could say anything new about England in the time of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, here is a page-turner that surrounds you with the humanity of the characters and the dangerous world in which they lived. The story is told from the viewpoint of Thomas Cromwell, a poor, abused boy who eventually becomes one of the wealthiest men in the country and the King’s closest advisor. Mantel’s intimate portrayal of many familiar characters—including a portrait of Thomas More that departs markedly from the usual saintly martyr—shows us a time that was both very different and yet very much the same as our own.
–Carla
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