Wolf Hall

Author: Hilary Mantel
Stars: 1
Review by: Mandy Apgar

I wanted to like this, I really did. Maybe because I don't tend to like historical fiction, but it was reviewed so well, I dunno. But it is a semi biography of the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, the infamous Thomas Cranmer, who presided during a good portion of the Tudor Era. It begins in his childhood and ends while Henry VIII is still alive but in his decline, and focuses on the court at Wolf Hall - especially during the reign of Anne Boleyn. My problem with it was it could've been a lot better if it was more accurate, not to toot my own horn or anything, but after studying this period for roughly 25 years now I can poke holes in mostly any book. This was fiction yes, but things were needlessly changed for no purpose (spouses being alive/dead to suit the author's whims, major personality changes in certain figures, etc.) and at times it was almost offensive how certain people were portrayed. These people cannot defend themselves and at any rate they all deserve respect. Also, the language was far too modern to suit a man such as Cranmer, and it really should have gone to the end of his life. This is a man who, after recanting his Protestant beliefs to Mary I, recanted his recantation and while being burnt alive had the hutzpah to thrust his right arm in the flames saying that as it signed the false record it deserved to be burned first. The book just didn't capture the spirit of the man and instead focused on washed out stereotypes.