Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

Thomas Cromwell : Abused son of a brutal blacksmith, political genius, master strategist, a briber, a persuasive talker, charmer and a bully. History has largely been unkind to him, and when pitted against the more intellectual, his name sake opponent, Thomas More - the Catholics have a 500 year old grudge against him. My troubles to find out more about Cromwell revealed, that only historian Elton has pointed out the important role that Cromwell played to carry England, from the middle ages to the modern era, with reformation being the leading article. Interestingly this reformation, and Catholicism, is of personal importance to Mantel given her own family Catholic background and "protestant changes" in it, as it were ( read "The Devil and Hilary Mantel".)

This book, despite its subtle wit and sarcasm, ( which suggest the author's Shakespearean influence,) is a challenging read at 650 pages. Employing modern English, the whole narration is from the point of view of Cromwell, although not in the first person. It is challenging, firstly, due to its size, and secondly due to the many characters that take the field. I have to reluctantly admit, that a kindle read of this book would've been a tad more tedious given  the numerous instances that I had to turn back the pages which listed out the characters.

I will not try to review the book, per se, much. It is a thoroughly rewarding read, and honestly given the difficult days we are going through at present, a book like this, which warrants a strict daily routine to read, is a good choice in my honest opinion. I was just lucky that a reader's club picked this as a read, these days. From here on, I will dwell a bit on the times that were, why change was inevitable, the hypocrisy that prevailed back then, and why in my opinion Cromwell did England, a much needed service. But these were difficult times, and reformists who are now revered upon, would be hounded out of civilised society in modern times, if some of these are not the author's imagination.

"Women reading the Bible, there's another point of contention. Does she know what Brother Martin thinks is a woman's place? We shouldn't mourn, he says, if our wife or daughter dies in childbirth – she's only doing what God made her for. Very harsh, Brother Martin, very intractable." ( page 124 - Wosley to Cromwell, aside, while discussing Anne Boleyn's virtues, which he has in epistles to the pope in Rome )

The matter that made the most impact to me was the facade, the show, the hypocrisy, which the  ruling class upheld as a collective inferred reverence. Anne Boleyn's and Katherine of Aragon's chastity ( or its lack); Thomas More's fight to save his soul, irrespective of all the cruelties and tortures that he personally ensured took place;  the continued sacrifice of able and capable men for the whims and beliefs of royalty. I do comprehend that the passage of 500 years has given new meaning to many things, since. But the worrying factor is, even today, in a climate of a global pandemic as we are in now, cultural practices and deep rooted beliefs still question the studied decisions of the experts in the respective fields. 

It is in this light that I cannot help, but nurture a respect for Thomas Cromwell. Mantel's Cromwell, is nothing but a practical man, who changed and interpreted rules to suit the ends he was serving, ( like Wolsey before him - but more effectively, ruthlessly.)  While his own beliefs are not presented clearly in the book, it is safe to assume that he was a modernist far beyond the age that he lived in - a pragmatist.

"It is time to say what England is, her scope and boundaries: not to count and measure her harbour defences and border walls, but to estimate her capacity for self-rule. It is time to say what a king is, and what trust and guardianship he owes his people: what protection from foreign incursions moral or physical, what freedom from the pretensions of those who would like to tell an Englishman how to speak to his God. Parliament meets mid-January. The business of the early spring is breaking the resistance of the bishops to Henry's new order, putting in place legislation that – though for now it is held in suspension – will cut revenues to Rome, make his supremacy in the church no mere form of words." ( pages 338-339)

But, yet, the skill in our authoress is such that, the respect for ideologue, Thomas More,  which I felt blooming in me, couldn't be denied either ( although he ends up in the losing side).

‘You cannot compel me to put myself in hazard. For if I had an opinion against your Act of Supremacy, which I do not concede, then your oath would be a two-edged sword. I must put my body in peril if I say no to it, my soul if I say yes to it. Therefore I say nothing.’ ( page 628 - More to Cromwell , when the latter tries to talk his way through for More's oath.)

 Such strong belief !

After a hefty 650 page read, tired as I am, I may possibly venture to its sequel, "Bringing up the Bodies", given that Ms. Mantel has managed to convince me that I must continue to read on, and live through the life and times of that master strategist, Thomas Cromwell - even if that means resorting to a kindle version, for a book better served in its printed format.

The Royalty served but more for their selfish gain. The results are a product of the blood and sweat of the officials.

"‘Do I retain you for what is easy? Jesus pity my simplicity, I have promoted you to a place in this kingdom that no one, no one of your breeding has ever held in the whole of the history of this realm.’ He  drops his voice. ‘Do you think it is for your personal beauty? The charm of your presence? I keep you, Master Cromwell, because you are as cunning as a bag of serpents. But do not be a viper in my bosom. You know my decision. Execute it.’ (page 631 - Henry to Cromwell)

It appears that Cromwell may have gone on to become the 2nd most powerful person of then, England. But there sure wasn't a day his humble beginnings were not reminded him. England, sure has come a long long way!