''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

by English author

Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...

, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sympathetic fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

. The novel won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 2012, ''The Observer'' named it as one of "The 10 best historical novels". The book is the first in a trilogy; the sequel '' Bring Up the Bodies'' was published in 2012. The last book in the trilogy is '' The Mirror and the Light'' (2020), which covers the last four years of Cromwell's life.

Summary

In 1500, the teenage Thomas Cromwell ran away from home to flee his abusive father and sought his fortune as a soldier in France. By 1527, the well-travelled Cromwell had returned to England and was now a lawyer, a married father of three, and highly respected as the right-hand man of Cardinal

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...

, with a reputation for successful deal-making. His life takes a tragic turn when his wife and two daughters abruptly die of the sweating sickness, leaving him a widower. His sister-in-law, Johane, comes to keep house for him. Cromwell is still in Wolsey's service in 1529 when the Cardinal falls out of favour with King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

because he failed to arrange an annulment of the King's marriage to

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

. Cromwell manages to buy the Cardinal a little time before everything the Cardinal owns is repossessed and given to Henry's mistress,

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

. Cromwell subsequently decides to relocate the Cardinal and his entourage to a second home in

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

, and the Cardinal moves on to York. Though he knows the Cardinal is doomed, Cromwell begins negotiations on his behalf with the King. During his visits, he meets the recently widowed Mary Boleyn, Anne's elder sister, and is intrigued by her. Cromwell is eventually summoned to meet Anne and finds Henry's loyalty to her unfathomable. Continuing to gain favour with both the King and Anne, Cromwell is disturbed by Wolsey's activities in York but is shocked when he learns that the Cardinal has been recalled to London to face treason charges and has died on the way. Cromwell mourns his death and vows to take vengeance on those involved in his downfall. Despite his known loyalty to Wolsey, Cromwell retains his favoured status with the King and is sworn into the King's council after interpreting one of Henry's nightmares about his deceased elder brother as a symbol that Henry should govern with the blessing of his late father and brother. Cromwell continues to advise Anne and works towards her ascent to Queen, hoping he will rise too. Just as the wedding appears imminent, Henry Percy, a former lover of Anne's, declares that he is her legal husband and still loves her. Cromwell visits Percy on Anne's behalf and threatens him into silence, securing his position as a

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

in the

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

household. King Henry travels to France for a successful conference with the French. Finally, secure in her position, Anne can marry Henry privately and consummate their relationship. She quickly becomes pregnant, and Henry has her crowned Queen in a ceremony that Cromwell perfectly organises.

Historical background

Born to a working-class family of no position or name, Cromwell became the right-hand man of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, adviser to the King. He survived Wolsey's fall from grace to eventually become the most powerful of Henry's ministers. In that role, he observed turning points in English history, as Henry asserted his authority to declare his marriage annulled from

, married

, broke from Rome, established the independence of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and called for the dissolution of the monasteries. The novel is a re-envisioning of historical and literary records; in Robert Bolt's play '' A Man for All Seasons'' Cromwell is portrayed as the calculating, unprincipled opposite of

's honour and decency. Mantel's novel offers an alternative to that portrayal, an intimate portrait of Cromwell as a tolerant, pragmatic, and talented man attempting to serve King, country, and family amid the political machinations of Henry's court and the religious upheavals of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, in contrast to More's viciously punitive adherence to the old Roman Catholic order that Henry is sweeping away.

Process

Mantel said she spent five years researching and writing the book, trying to match her fiction to the historical record. To avoid contradicting history she created a card catalogue, organised alphabetically by character, with each card containing notes indicating where a particular historical figure was on relevant dates. "You really need to know, where is the Duke of Suffolk at the moment? You can't have him in London if he's supposed to be somewhere else," she explained. In an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Mantel stated her aim to place the reader in "that time and that place, putting you into Henry's entourage. The essence of the thing is not to judge with hindsight, not to pass judgment from the lofty perch of the 21st century when we know what happened. It's to be there with them in that hunting party at Wolf Hall, moving forward with imperfect information and perhaps wrong expectations, but in any case, moving forward into a future that is not pre-determined but where chance and hazard will play a terrific role."

Characters

''Wolf Hall'' includes a large cast of fictionalised historical persons. In addition to those already mentioned, prominent characters include: * Stephen Gardiner, Master Secretary to King Henry * Princess Mary, Henry and Catherine's daughter and only surviving child, later Queen Mary I of England. * Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne * Thomas Boleyn, father of Anne and Mary * Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Anne's uncle *

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

, Archbishop of Canterbury * Jane Seymour, who later became the third of Henry's six wives * Rafe Sadler, Thomas Cromwell's ward * Eustace Chapuys, Ambassador to England of

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

Title

The title comes from the name of the Seymour family seat at Wolfhall or Wulfhall in Wiltshire; the title's allusion to the old Latin saying '' Homo homini lupus'' ("Man is wolf to man") serves as a constant reminder of the dangerously opportunistic nature of the world through which Cromwell navigates.

Reception

Critical reception

''Wolf Hall'' received generally positive reviews from critics. On ''The Omnivore'', based on British press, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.5 out of 5. According to

Book Marks ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and '' Electric Literatur ...

, primarily from American press, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on eleven critics: seven "rave" and four "positive". ''Culture Critic'' assessed critical response as an aggregated score of 82%. ''The BookScore'' assessed an aggregated critic score of 9.0 out of 10 based on British and American press. ''Wolf Hall'' received an 80% from ''The Lit Review'', based on twenty-two critic reviews. In the January/February 2010 issue of '' Bookmarks'', the book was scored four out of five. The magazine's critical summary reads: "''Wolf Hall'' offers a fascinating and expertly researched look at a man famously villainised in the play and film ''A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Showtimess more recent bodice-ripping series ''The Tudors''". On '' BookBrowse'', the book was scored 5 out of 5 from "Critics' Consensus". For the media reviews on a rating scale out of five: '' The New York Times Book Review'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' reviews under five and ''

'', ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'', and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' reviews under four. Globally, the work was received generally well (with rating assessments based on the critic reviews from Complete Review ranging from scores such as B+) with Complete Review saying on the review consensus, "Very positive – and see it as a possible breakout book for her". In ''The Guardian'', Christopher Tayler wrote "''Wolf Hall'' succeeds on its own terms and then some, both as a non-frothy historical novel and as a display of Mantel's extraordinary talent. Lyrically yet cleanly and tightly written, solidly imagined yet filled with spooky resonances, and very funny at times, it's not like much else in contemporary British fiction. A sequel is apparently in the works, and it's not the least of Mantel's achievements that the reader finishes this 650-page book wanting more." Susan Bassnett, in ''Times Higher Education'', wrote in a rare negative review, "dreadfully badly written... Mantel just wrote and wrote and wrote. I have yet to meet anyone outside the Booker panel who managed to get to the end of this tedious tome. God forbid there might be a sequel, which I fear is on the horizon." In ''The Observer'', Olivia Laing wrote, "Over two decades, she has gained a reputation as an elegant anatomiser of malice and cruelty. From the French Revolution of ''A Place of Greater Safety'' (1992) to the Middle England of '' Beyond Black'' (2005), hers are scrupulously moral – and scrupulously unmoralistic – books that refuse to shy away from the underside of life, finding even in disaster a bleak and unconsoling humour. That supple movement between laughter and horror makes this rich pageant of Tudor life her most humane and bewitching novel." Vanora Bennett in ''The Times'' wrote, "as soon as I opened the book I was gripped. I read it almost non-stop. When I did have to put it down, I was full of regret; the story was over, a regret I still feel. This is a wonderful and intelligently imagined retelling of a familiar tale from an unfamiliar angle – one that makes the drama unfolding nearly five centuries ago look new again and shocking again, too."

Controversy over historical accuracy

In the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Gregory Wolfe notes "One of her stated goals in writing ''Wolf Hall'' was to take on Robert Bolt's 1954 stage play, ''A Man for All Seasons'' ", which lauded

. Furthermore, "Critics have pointed out that the author’s liberties with the historical record demonstrate a clear ideological bias. Mantel was raised Catholic but is now a vocal critic of that church, which she has said 'is not an institution for respectable people'." Wolfe cites historians:

David Starkey Dr. David Robert Starkey (born 3 January 1945) is a British historian, radio and television presenter, with views that he describes as conservative. The only child of Quaker parents, he attended Kirkbie Kendal School, Kendal Grammar School b ...

: that there is "not a scrap of evidence" for the narrative and describing the plot as "total fiction",

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama ( ; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia Uni ...

: "the documents shouted to high heaven that Thomas Cromwell was, in fact, a detestably self-serving, bullying monster who perfected state terror in England, cooked the evidence, and extracted confessions by torture," and Eamon Duffy who elsewhere "despises Cromwell. He is mystified by his makeover in Hilary Mantel's ''Wolf Hall'' from a thuggish, ruthless commoner to a thoughtful, sensitive figure." Neo-conservative Catholic author George Weigel described the novels as "bad history" but cited their success as proof that "that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable bigotry in elite circles in the Anglosphere." He wrote, "Protestant anti-Catholicism in the U.K. has long since been superseded by secular anti-Catholicism, but the cultural afterburn remains virtually identical: to the Hillary icMantels of 21st-century Britain, Catholicism is retrograde, priggish, obsessive, fanatical, and, well, un-English."

Awards and lists

The book continued to receive acclaim among many critics' lists: according to ''The Greatest Books'', a site that aggregates book lists, it is "The 213th greatest book of all time". A poll of literary experts by the Independent Bath Literature Festival voted ''Wolf Hall'' the greatest novel from 1995 to 2015. It also ranked third in a BBC Culture poll of the best novels since 2000. In 2019, ''The Guardians list of the 100 best books of the 21st century ranked ''Wolf Hall'' first. In July 2024 the ''New York Times'' named ''Wolf Hall'' the third best book of the 21st century.

Sales

On top of the laudatory critical reception, ''Wolf Hall'' has enjoyed commercial success. Upon its release in 2009, it was the fastest-selling Booker winner since the organization began tracking such data. In a blog post after Mantel’s death in 2022, Booker stated that the book has sold an estimated 1.09 million copies which makes it the second-highest winner after ''Life of Pi''. The overall trilogy has sold an estimated 5 million copies worldwide and been translated into over 40 languages.

Awards and nominations

* Winner – 2009 Booker Prize. James Naughtie, the chairman of the Booker Prize judges, said the decision to give ''Wolf Hall'' the award was "based on the sheer bigness of the book. The boldness of its narrative, its scene setting...The extraordinary way that Hilary Mantel has created what one of the judges has said was a contemporary novel, a modern novel, which happens to be set in the 16th century". * Winner – 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. * Winner – 2010 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. * Winner – 2010 '' The Morning News'' Tournament of Books. *Winner – 2010 Audie Award for Literary Fiction for the audiobook narrated by Simon Slater *Winner – 2010 AudioFile magazine Earphone Award for the audiobook narrated by Simon Slater

Adaptations

Stage

In January 2013, the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

(RSC) announced it would stage adaptations by Mike Poulton of ''Wolf Hall'' and '' Bring Up the Bodies'' in its Winter season. The production transferred to London's Aldwych Theatre in May 2014, for a limited run until October. Producers Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel brought the London productions of ''Wolf Hall'' and ''Bring Up the Bodies'', starring Ben Miles as Thomas Cromwell; Lydia Leonard as Anne Boleyn; Lucy Briers as Catherine of Aragon; and Nathaniel Parker as Henry VIII, to Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre in March 2015 for a 15-week run. The double-bill has been re-titled ''Wolf Hall, Parts 1 and 2'' for American audiences. The play was nominated for eight

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s, including Best Play.

Television

In 2012, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

announced it would adapt ''Wolf Hall'' and '' Bring Up the Bodies'' for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

, for broadcast in 2015. On 8 March 2013, the BBC announced Mark Rylance had been cast as Thomas Cromwell. The first episode was broadcast in the United States on PBS's ''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

'' on 5 April 2015. In June 2015,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

announced exclusive rights to stream ''

'' programmes, including ''Wolf Hall'', on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

. After suffering an extensive delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second series adapting the third book, '' The Mirror and the Light'', was filmed between November 2023 and April 2024 and aired in the UK on 10 November 2024.

Translations

* . Translated by Ine Willems. Amsterdam: Signatuur. 1st September 2010. . * . Translated by Beatriz Sequeira. São Paulo: Civilização. 9th April 2010. . * . Translated by Giuseppina Oneto. Rome: Fazi. 14th January 2011. . * . Translated by Kaisa Sivenius. Helsinki: Teos. 21st April 2011. . * . Translated by Christiane Trabant. Cologne: DuMont. 2nd April 2012. . * . Translated by Urszula Gardner. Katowice: Sonia Draga. 15th May 2013. . * . Translated by Nguyễn Chí Hoan. Hanoi: Nhã Nam. 9th September 2016. .

References

External links

Summary

Historical background

Process

Characters

Title

Reception

Critical reception

Controversy over historical accuracy

Awards and lists

Sales

Awards and nominations

Adaptations

Stage

Television

Translations

See also

References

External links