Bring Up the Bodies: The Booker Prize-winning and bestselling sequel to Wolf Hall, now a major TV series (The Wolf Hall Trilogy)

Bring Up The Bodies is the sequel to Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel's acclaimed Booker winner about Henry VIII's advisor, Thomas Cromwell. I loved Wolf Hall, to the point where I have to sit on my hands when talking about it in order to stop myself from grabbing people by the shoulders and shaking them in excitement. So could Bring Up The Bodies ever, in my eyes, live up to its predecessor? As it turned out, yes. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it surpasses it. Bring Up The Bodies has a tighter structure and a little more pace than Wolf Hall, and Thomas Cromwell - as he carefully, cleverly, calmly works to engineer the downfall of Anne Boleyn and fulfil the whims of the capricious king, while neatly taking revenge on those who wronged his beloved Cardinal Wolsey - becomes a more intriguing and ambiguous character with every turn of the page. His motives are complex, his relationships fascinating. He can be a genial father figure and a compassionate statesman one moment and coldly vengeful, chillingly pragmatic and almost sociopathic, the next - and yet Cromwell never seems inconsistent or implausible. Adept when it comes to acquiring money, power and influence, Cromwell is also all too aware that his position at the right-hand of King Henry is a precarious one. Many fear him, and rightly so - but as readers, we're privy to his vulnerability, and Bring Up The Bodies is packed with dark foreshadowing to hint at what could be to come in the third planned instalment in Mantel's Cromwell trilogy. "I have everything, you would think," Cromwell tells his nephew. "And yet take Henry away, and I have nothing." Other characters, too, are sketched with exquisite verve. Cromwell's sweet-natured son Gregory, his ward Rafe Sadler, servant Christophe and the imperial ambassador Chapuys are particularly engaging, and the Seymours, bent on making their daughter Jane the King's mistress, are darkly comic as they and Cromwell to make use of a daughter who has previously been 'as much use as a blancmange' but could become a commodity if she is prepared to 'earn her keep'. The wider roles of women in the Tudor court, and the rigid class structure that applies even to torture methods, are also fascinatingly explored throughout. I read this book on my Kindle, which provides a neat little facility for highlighting and noting passages of novels that particularly appeal. Generally, I'll highlight a couple of lines or paragraphs in a book, but when I read Bring Up The Bodies, I had to stop myself from highlighting everything that stood out for me because there was simply too much. There are examples of beautiful prose, of descriptions that balance poetry with precision, of sharp wit and pitch-perfect dialogue on every page; at every turn, I could find something new to praise. I know that there are readers who detest Mantel's style, and I can fully understand why it is not to everyone's taste, but for me, her books are are a writer's masterclass in making perfection seem effortless. It's only July and yet I'm confident in naming Bring Up The Bodies as my book of the year. Can the final book in Mantel's Cromwell trilogy be as good as this, I wonder? It seems too much to ask, but my hopes are high.

"Bring Up The Bodies", is - like its prequel ( "Wolf Hal"l ) - a superb piece of writing: original in its approach, gripping, deeply analytical of personality, motive and situation, brilliant and original in its descriptive as well as in its narrative style. Ms. Mantel raises the historical novel to a new level of excellence. Shortly before experiencing this superb brace of biographical exposés, I had read a representative of the genre written by one of its best known and most widely read authors. I was so bored by it that I had almost resolved never to venture into that area again. A chance meeting and a recommendation led to my reading Hilary Mantel, and the difference in quality taught me a lesson I am still enjoying. When "Bring Up The Bodies" ended, I felt genuinely sad. I wanted more. There was one small matter that caused me minor irritation: in "Wolf Hall", in order to create a sense of Thomas Cromwell's pervasiveness, his ubiquity, Ms. Mantel almost always refers to ( or identifies ) him with a personal pronoun rather than with his name. In that way the impression of Cromwell's thoughts and ideas, the thoughts behind the words, is cleverly conveyed. However, there were times when it proved a little confusing and even tiresome. A person ( other than Cromwell ) has just been referred to or quoted, and when the "he" of the next paragraph follows, one naturally assumes that the person now referred to or speaking is the same person....whereas, in fact, we have 'switched' to Cromwell. I questioned one or two other people who had read the book and their reaction was as mine. One had even ceased to read "Wolf Hall" because he found the device too irritating. I found, happily, that after the first few chapters I had adapted to this stylistic eccentricity, though occasionally it still proved a distraction. When I picked up "Bring Up The Bodies", I was prepared for it and thought myself more or less inured to it. To my surprise, it was almost absent! Whenever Cromwell was referred to or quoted, it was now, almost always, "he, Cromwell" or "him Cromwell" or "Cromwell himself", with some other variations. To be honest, this 'clarification' appeared so insistently that it began to feel awkward...affected; and at times it was actually unnecessary. I'm curious to know: were there so many adverse comments about this aspect of the style after "Wolf Hall" that Ms. Mantel decided to adjust it in the sequel? I doubt that. In fact, the revised ( 'corrected'? ) style was so obtrusively altered that I suspect the change ( no doubt accepted by the author - though maybe with reluctance ) was the work of a proof reader or sub-editor. I wonder if anyone can enlighten me. I can think of no other explanation for this change. None of this, however, spoiled my enjoyment of an outstandingly good book and I would recommend it without any serious qualification to any serious reader.

A Man Booker Prize winner and sequel to the Man Booker Prize winner 'Wolf Hall' continues the story of Thomas Cromwell through the turbulent final weeks of Anne Boleyn's life (I'm not apologising for that spoiler, you should know that by now). In 'Wolf Hall', Thomas Cromwell was responsible for (well, he was the lawyer who made it happen) England's break with the Catholic church in order for Henry VIII to become head of the Church of England and annul his marriage with Katherine of Aragon (still with me?). Henry did this so he could marry Anne Boleyn. In this novel, Henry falls out of love with Anne after she fails to give him a male heir, so Thomas 'finds' men to testify that they had affairs with Anne (no one knows if she actually did have any affairs) so she could be tried for treason and beheaded, then he would be free to marry again. Simples! The story is not narrated by Cromwell, but continues the 'fly-on-the-wall' narration of 'Wolf Hall'. I wonder why Mantel didn't make Cromwell the narrator? Maybe there were events which she couldn't have covered as he wasn't there, but much of the story is told by people reporting to him. I'm undecided whether this change would have added much to the novel. I love this period in history, I read anything I can get my hands on about the Tudors, I find them fascinating. I enjoyed the insights into the Tudor court, the descriptions were lavish and the characters larger than life. I really appreciate the amount of research which must go into a novel like this. Mantel admits in a postscript that Cromwell's life is not hugely documented so a lot of the plot was embellished with accounts from other people's life. Cromwell really came to life in this book, his character was really well explained and I felt as if I knew him. Looking just at the events, you would be forgiven for thinking that Cromwell was a selfish, unfeeling servant of Henry's, he caused the death of at least 5 people (Anne and her 4 lovers), but this novel places him in a better light. He thought he was just annulling a marriage at the start of the investigation, removing Anne to a convent very much like Katherine (although she retired to semi-house arrest). As he found more and more evidence, it's clear to see that he'd started a roller-coaster which took on it's own life, culminating the only way it could. I ended up feeling quite sorry for him. Although this is a long book (432 pages) and it does take some concentration to follow the story (which at times goes off on a train of thought which confused me), I think it's worth it. I highly recommend this book and it's predecessor 'Wolf Hall' and can't wait to read the final novel in this trilogy 'The Mirror and the Light' next year.

I read the sequel whilst listening to the audiobook by Audible read by Ben Miles whose spellbinding performance had me hooked! Bring Up the Bodies is an absolute masterpiece. The novel continues the career of Thomas Cromwell, a character brought to life with depth and complexity. Mantel’s stunning writing immerses the reader into the rich (and corrupt?) tapestry of Tudor England. Her attention to historical detail weaves a captivating narrative, transporting readers to witness the court intrigue and political machinations of Henry VIII’s reign. We become intimate observers of the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, experiencing the tension, drama and sadness that envelopes this pivotal moment in history. Mantel’s ability to marry history to fiction is truly remarkable, making the characters feel very much alive and authentic. Cromwell, is a brilliantly crafted protagonist whose cunning intellect and unwavering loyalty is mesmerising. However, my question is: how much of Anne’s downfall was down to Henry or the people who surrounded him? A triumph in literary achievement that will leave you pondering the intricacies long after you have finished the final page. If you have an appetite for beautifully written and well researched historical fiction, then this sequel is an absolute must-read.

It's 1535 and Cromwell is Henry VIII's Chief Minister and Master Secretary. Thanks to the new Queen Anne and the Boleyn family, he has property, riches and power, but the King's inner circle will never let him forget his humble beginnings and are constantly circling him, waiting for a mistake that they can use to bring about his downfall. That downfall may be closer than Cromwell likes because Anne has yet to bear Henry the male heir he craves and faced with her jealousy, her demands and her acquisitiveness, his eye is beginning to wander towards the more sedate Jane Seymour. Conscious of what happened to his mentor Wolsey, Cromwell know that if he's to satisfy the king's desire while preserving his own position then he must turn on the Boleyns. But Cromwell's navigating a dangerous path and the Boleyns will not go quietly ... Hilary Mantel's Booker Prize winning sequel to the Booker Prize winning WOLF HALL is an equally thrilling, intelligent and utterly gripping account of Anne Boleyn's downfall and the impact on Cromwell. Mantel succeeds in taking a familiar story and making it feel both fresh and suspenseful again. As with WOLF HALL, Mantel peels away the different layers of Cromwell's character, revealing a man who has his vulnerabilities but is also capable of being utterly ruthless to both friends and enemies. A scene where he interrogates the hapless musician Smeaton is a masterclass in intimidation and cruelty as he takes the man apart and reduces him to nothing. I was also fascinated by Mantel's portrayal of Anne Boleyn who is a complicated character in her own right - capricious and vicious she's an intelligent woman who isn't as secure in her own position as she would like and feels constantly compelled to manipulate the men around her. Cromwell's observations of her are astute and the way they dance around each other is nail bitingly tense and I actually felt sorry for her as she goes towards her doom. There's a wonderful sense of period running throughout the piece and I liked the way Mantel weaves Cromwell's personal history into his reactions and plans. I also enjoyed the fact that the narrative is written in a less stylised and thus earlier to follow style than in WOLF HALL. All in all, it's a stunning read and I'm very much looking forward to the final book in the trilogy.

If you have been worried this might not live up to Wolf Hall, put your mind at reat. It may even be the better book of the two! Cromwell walks right back into our lives as if he had never been gone, shining his clear vision on the miscellaneous cast of characters who inhabit Henry's court and confiding his own inner thoughts and visions to us too. A fascinating book, this - it covers a relatively short period between the death of More and the fall of the Boleyns - scant months, but full of rumour and intrigue, which have been handled by all of Anne Boleyns and Henry's biographers, but never entirely satisfactorily. Cromwell senses the shifts in power at the court, accepts his alienation from Anne and moves to realign himself elsewhere - with the Seymours and ultimately with the older courtiers who look to bring Anne down. Always he must have his eye on Henry's moods, which he half hides and won't acknowledge, requiring Cromwell to perform feats of inference and divination. The atmosphere is wonderfully, tautly conveyed, and never more so than in picturing Anne defeated, fallen in on herself, but still hoping in the flash of her eye for the reprieve which does not come. The very great achivement of this series of books (and yes, there is to be a third) is to humanise Cromwell - show the man inside the enigma, show his priorities and loyalties. The idea that Anne's "lovers" may have been picked by him in revenge for their actions to Wolsey is fascinating and presented in a way which is very compelling. Certainly the idea of Cromwell as a fundamentally loyal man is one which is attractive, and consistent with his behaviour to Wolsey, as well as with his superhuman efforts to please Henry (which can as well be put down to this as the traditional cold blooded desire for success and power). It also fits with the rather warmer picture of him which emerges from sources which describe him as a clubbable man ... Finally regardless of the book's status as a truly excellent historical novel, it is also a really well written book. I found Wolf Hall a bit of a struggle in this respect on first reading, though on second reading I came to admire it very much indeed. I think stylistically Bring Up the Bodies has all the merits of Wolf Hall, with fewer of the problematic aspects. A fantastically well written book, which will repay re-reading.

A real feel and insight into Tudor England - the power and dependency of King - his precariousness - his ego - his vanity - his indulgent guilt - it is all about Henry. But not the book - this is all about Cromwell - ot at least through his eyes - his humble and brutal birth - his status at court - his history with Europe and religion - Wolsey. His indispensability to Henry - as Ann Boleyn discovers after Katherine. Cromwell is complex and fascinatingly portrayed - he is real - we can see him as he bulks out in older age - we believe in him as his household do and we care for him despite knowing his capabilities in the service of King and self - he is a pragmatist - he gives us a rationale for his behavior and we buy in to him totally, or at least I did. This is powerful literature - she is genius - she is funny - she is authentic and this authenticity enables us to accept that while she is filling some of the historical blanks how could we possibly do this for ourselves reading the archives? Who could animate these pictures of Tudor culture life and politics for us but Hillary? I can hear the great roars out there from those who don't feel quite so drawn in as me, however, my greatest fear is that she will not move on through the Tudor line to Elizabeth. You see Hillary I wont know her in my heart and mind unless you introduce us personally so we can spend time together and she stays with me as Henry and Cromwell have. I do insist it is you because others have tried and well failed to produce a good history lesson or novel to grip me. l trust you will do both mind blowingly and brilliantly. Anybody interested in a read that you can't put down this is for you. If you love both literature and history together at its most incisive, most entertaining and enlightening, clever and imaginative this is definitely for you.

I jumped straight into Bring Up the Bodies after finishing Wolf Hall, such was my eagerness to dive back into Hilary Mantel's Tudor England and, of course, sit on the shoulder of the inscrutable, enigmatic Thomas Cromwell as he led us through it. Mantel still prefers to overuse her third person pronouns rather than use her main character's name, which in the previous book could get considerably confusing, however, towards the end of Wolf Hall she begins using "he, Cromwell..." a lot more, and it's that form that she utilises in Bring Up the Bodies. It admittedly clears up a lot of potential confusion, but I stick by what I said in my review of Wolf Hall, that it renders the "he" altogether redundant and it's a clumsy solution compared to the simplicity and clarity of just using a character's name where appropriate! Mantel's strength is still her expansive knowledge of the English language, her storycraft in creating a compelling plot, and her attention to detail which bring the book alive. This attention to detail creates subtle characterisations, full of their own peculiar eccentricities and unique personalities. Mantel has show, don't tell down to a fine art, letting her characters' personalities grow and build up organically through their actions and speech - and, of course, Thomas Cromwell's sardonic observations about them. My one disappointment with the characterisations has been that I think they could be even stronger, and that I feel Mantel adheres to stock stereotypes of the Boleyn family a little too much. Mantel had previously tempered her characterisations of the Boleyns by giving them a good dose of ambiguity, but now, in order to gear up for the big showdown, certain negative traits are exacerbated to adhere more closely to stereotype - such as Jane Parker's unfeeling cruelty, and Anne Boleyn's self-absorbed haughtiness. Mantel also omits the dispute between Anne and Cromwell over what should be done with the proceeds of the dissolution of the monasteries. Other than that, I felt that Mantel created the downfall tremendously well, getting into the nooks and crannies of just how it unfolded, dispelling certain myths about what happened, and, most importantly, leaving the truth ambiguous for the reader. Cromwell masterfully constructs his case against the Boleyns through hearsay and implication, and through his machinations weaves enough doubt to make it plausible that some of the other characters believe the truth of it. However, he never has any direct proof, and, tellingly, Cromwell himself studiously avoids answering a question put to him by his son about whether the people he arrests actually did what they are accused of. A whole dark undercurrent permeates proceedings, in which one feels that the truth is being meticulously suppressed. Though I would have wished for the Boleyn clan to have been characterised with more subtlety and humanity, Mantel treats their downfall with dignity, not only creating this masterful ambiguity, but striking the right balance of factors of those responsible between Cromwell, the king, and the conservative faction at court, and demonstrating the consequences through Cromwell himself. Two scenes were particularly striking - Cromwell's conversation with Thomas Wyatt about justice in the realm, and Cromwell's realisation of some change that has happened to him after all this. I thought this was a seminal moment, and moving - the spider caught in his own web; having constructed this mirage of half-truths and circumstantial interpretations, Cromwell can no longer cut to the truth like he used to, and finds his certainty obscured by the miasma he himself has created in the new climate in England. Bring Up the Bodies is transporting, seamlessly segueing between the tarnished glitter of the treacherous court and the busy-bee day-to-day life of London, creating characters who inhabit these worlds who break out of the two-dimensional confines of the page and appear three-dimensional in the mind's eye. Written with skill, richly detailed, subtle characterisations, and a compelling plot that drove me onwards towards the dreadful conclusion.

Der zweite Teil der Trilogie über Thomas Cromwell schildert vorwiegend den Untergang von Anne Boleyn, der zweiten Frau von Heinrich VIII. und welche Rolle Cromwell dabei spielte. Der Höhepunkt ist die Beschreibung Hilary Mantels auf 10 Seiten von der Hinrichtung Boleyns - der Scharfrichter kam eigens aus Calais. - Des Weiteren lernt mal viel über wichtige Persönlichkeiten des damaligen Englands und Heinrichs VIII. Bruch mit Rom kennen. Die Hinrichtung von Thomas More spiegelt den Höhepunkt diesen Bruchs wider. - Historischer, epischer Roman at its best!

I've seldom seen anything similar to the approving furor over Hilary Mantel's WOLF HALL, and if you had told me that a novel about Thomas Cromwell - most famously seen as a sleazy weasel attacking the saintly Thomas More in the movie A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS - could be fascinating and sexy, I would not have believed you. Mantel's writing, however, was utterly perfect as she twisted expectations by showing More as the intolerant, egocentric, venomous 16th-century anti-hero and Cromwell as a man who, in spite of battering, had become generous, loving, wise, reforming, amusing - calculating and vengeful (the vengeful doesn't really pop up until almost the end of WOLF HALL but it's definitely a trail worth following). So where do you go with one of the decade's most approved books, winner of the Man Booker Prize and other prestigious awards, which was so beautifully written that, while waiting for Part 2, many of us read it multiple times just to savor the ironies, the contrasts? You go on, as life does, and do Part 2. BRING UP THE BODIES gives Cromwell an altogether tougher task. Having become rich and elevated by serving Henry VIII in any way he desires, Cromwell now has to metaphorically enter Henry's bed to get rid of an inconvenient woman. Anne Boleyn has failed to give the King what she promised and that, in Tudor England, was fatal. The current Queen, from the first page of the book, has a metaphysical and literal sword hanging over her head. After the most notorious romance in western history, a stitched-up divorce ripping England from Holy Mother Church, all she can provide to the heir-hungry Henry is - another squalling daughter and a series of miscarriages. Just like her predecessor, the sorrowful Katherine of Aragon. So - Cromwell, the ultimate Fixer for his Machiavellian monarch, is going to have to fix this one as well. At what cost? As the book progressed, an image from the first page kept recurring to me - the falcon, stooping to the kill, bloodied and remorseless. Circa regna tonat , indeed. This story has been told and retold, and the same magic that infused Wolf Hall illuminates this catastrophic event with the same surprises, beautiful writing, subtle penetration, and black irony. Somehow, it seems like an entirely new story, one in which you know there will be bodies but still, for a time, it seems like this doom-laden tale could be rewritten, that it will not end in a stage full of corpses. There is magic in Mantel's prose: "Katherine was not without sin, but now her sins are taken off her. They are all heaped upon Anne; the shadow who flits after her, the woman draped in night. The old queen dwells in the radiance of God's presence, her dead infants swaddled at her feet, but Anne dwells in this sinful world below, stewed in her childbed sweat, in her soiled sheet. But her hands and feet are cold and her heart is like a stone." I waited two years for this book and it was worth the wait. If Mantel can sustain this dark, haunted, illuminating, ironic time-travel for a third book, I will be astounded - but perhaps, not surprised.

Es fantástico, quizá el primero me impresionó más pero este segundo es espectacular también. Los retratos psicológicos y el desarrollo de los acontecimientos estan descritos con una riqueza y precisión que pareces estar en el lugar que la autora describe, percibiendo los estados de ánimo de los personajes, los olores y temperatura de cada secuencia del relato. Hace creer al lector q lo q realmente ocurrió es lo que está leyendo. Recomiendo su lectura y quedo a la espera de la publicación de la tercera entrega de la trilogía.

A autora conferiu profunda dimensão humana a figuras históricas, que tão frequentemente são retratadas de forma estereotipada. Este livro e Wolf Hall, que o antecedeu, são ambos perfeitos tanto para os que amam história, quanto para quem busca boa literatura.

This is a worthy successor to Wolf Hall, and in my opinion, a better novel. The first ends with a marriage; the 2nd with an execution. I much prefer executions to marriages. The intrigue surrounding the elevation of Ann Boleyn and the banishment of Katherine of Arragon from the royal bed, is modest stuff compared with the sexual politics that led to the former losing her head, as well as her crown. Hilary Mantel charts her every false step on the way to the block with intense precision, and a densely textured narrative that skillfully combines clarity and an ambiguity that is essential for an author who attempts to make her fiction match the truth of History. No one can be certain of the absence or extent of Ann’s guilt, and in the context of this novel it is not all that important. It is a foil with which to explore many intriguing issues: the rise of a blacksmith’s son to penultimate power in a court dominated by venal aristocrats busy looking over their shoulders as they stab the back of the courtier in front of them; the brutal clash between Church and State in which the former is stripped of its wealth and the latter of its soul; the initiatives and concessions needed to secure England’s peace with Europe, or a position of unassailable strength through strategic alliances, marriage being the most durable form of diplomatic cement; the gluttonous appetites of newly-promoted families for power and position-------indeed the fall of the Boleyn family is such a satisfying outcome that it almost justifies Anne’s demise for that reason alone. Every good novel needs a hero, and in Thomas Cromwell, Mantel has found or created one to suit her purpose admirably. As a devoted husband, now widower; an exemplary father who has lost all but one of his children, and whose own childhood was marred by paternal cruelty and brutality; a loyal disciple of his mentor, Cardinal Wolsey, who displays equal loyalty and concern for the disciples whose mentor he has now become; he stands as a beacon of common decency in a world of deceit. Mantel paints him, in biblical terms, as a “Noah in his Generation”: no big compliment in being the best of a generation so evil, that God decided to eradicate human life from the planet he had created only a short time ago. Actually, it is not quite like that. As with the very best novelists, Mantel creates or recruits characters who mix good and evil in varying proportions into different shades of gray. Thomas’ father Walter is about as monochromatic as she will allow in her cast of thousands, apart from whom there is no other that lacks some likable features. Her writing is scholarly; at times pedantic; at others mellifluous to the point of daring the reader to recite it rather than read it so that its sonority will not go unappreciated; but she is not shy about words, ideas, or actions that 50 years ago would have raised the hackles of the censors. The enormity of the number of characters places a great strain on the reader’s memory, but the task is made easier by a sort of Cast List that precedes the opening of the novel, and also by the fact that we have met most of them before in Wolf Hall. In fact it is pretty senseless to tackle this one prior to the latter, any more than one can start a Play in the 2nd Act. There will after all be a 3rd to follow, that apparently is already written. As in WH, the production standards of this paperback version are very satisfactory: thick paper, clear medium-sized print, and reasonably durable covers. At Amazon’s price, averaging out around 3 cents per page, this is not only great literature: it is also great economics.