Wolf Hall by, Hilary Mantel ~~Review

Wolf Hall by, Hilary Mantel
This is a hard review to write because there is so much going on in this book. It is the story of Thomas Cromwell from the time he is a teen. He was instrumental in securing Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine so he could marry Anne Boleyn. He was a very ambitious man and I felt he went whichever way the wind blew to further himself.

Things about this book that left me wondering, the title for one, Wolf Hall only comes into it in the last 10 or so pages and that this is where the book ends not with the life of Thomas Cromwell but with the life of Sir Thomas Moore.

There seems to be so much more story to tell, it showed his rise to power but not his downfall there is only 5 more years of Thomas Cromwell’s life and I just feel like the story wasn’t finished yet. I think if you’re going to tell his story from a teen and up it should go to his death, especially when his fall from grace is only 5 years from the end of this book.

I did enjoy this book although it is rather confusing because so many people had the same names. I also think if you have no prior Tudor knowledge this book may not be for you. You need to know some of the players and history for this book to make sense. If you are a huge fan of the Tudors and would like some background into one of the minor players (With the Royals being the major ones) then this is for you. It was very well written but not a book I would read twice.

I did end up listening to this book on audio because I had a hard time getting into the print version. The Narrator Simon Slater was excellent and his mastery with all the different voices helped keep all the characters straight. If I were rating just the audio quality it would be a 4 - 41/2.Will be seeking out what else Simon Slater has narrated.

3 ½ Stars
Full Disclosure I won this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers program