Questions About Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)

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Answered Questions (36)

Been on my shelf for four years - should I read it??

Vidhi Depends on what kind of reader you are. This book doesn't start easy. And if one is unfamiliar with the English history like I was, it can be quite co…moreDepends on what kind of reader you are. This book doesn't start easy. And if one is unfamiliar with the English history like I was, it can be quite confusing. There are too many Thomases and like. But having said that, once you are in the narrative, it is a great read. Like every good book, it will give you withdrawal symptoms after finishing it. But it would not be very much about the characters. It would be more about the environment. I felt as if I am suddenly cut off from the English court and missing all the gossips, all the wheelings and dealings that I had become part of. So yeah, I found it a rewarding read.(less)

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I found this book difficult to read, because one had to constantly refer to family trees. If I left it for a few days I almost had to start again. Not sure it is one I would recommend as a MUST read....anyone think differently?

Jonathan I'm on page 200. I can only equate reading this to Chinese water torture, or having bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails....... I am stunned by t…moreI'm on page 200. I can only equate reading this to Chinese water torture, or having bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails....... I am stunned by the praise and accolades heaped upon this novel. Pretentious. It is next to impossible to know who is speaking. Not much has happened so far.... And yes, almost everyone is named Thomas - not that you're even told that "Thomas" is the one speaking.....or they're named Mary. If you appreciate quotation marks, I don't suggest reading this. The only thing that has helped, is that someone on Goodreads said that pretty much whenever you see the word "he", it either refers to Thomas Cromwell, or is a thought of Thomas Cromwell. I love a GOOD challenge. For me, this is just a BAD challenge.(less)

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I thought Mantel succeeded brilliantly in bringing Cromwell to life and describing his inner and outer world. One thing I didn't get was why he is adamantly against the reformation for the first half of the book, then suddenly becomes a fervent advocate for it. Was it just that he wanted to be the king's BFF?

Heather He's against reformation while Cardinal Wolsey is alive, because he serves Cardinal Wolsey and Wolsey is Catholic. Even then, though, he has "heretic"…moreHe's against reformation while Cardinal Wolsey is alive, because he serves Cardinal Wolsey and Wolsey is Catholic. Even then, though, he has "heretic" (Protestant) friends and participates in the smuggling of banned books. He had lived in Antwerp, which was a center of Protestant printing and distribution. He was very skeptical about Catholic institutions like the Papacy, the Holy Roman Empire, and the monasteries - very sensitive to religious hypocrisy, exploitation of the poor, and violence. There's a heartbreaking flashback to a day in his childhood when he saw an old woman burned alive as a heretic. I think his sympathies are basically Protestant, even though he works for Wolsey and sees the Catholic church as essential for England's stability.

After the Cardinal's death, Cromwell becomes more and more the king's man, and works to smooth the way for the king's marriage, which involves breaking from the Pope and declaring a new church with the king as its head.

Cromwell comes across in this book as someone whose own faith is private and skeptical... he treats religion strategically rather than as a matter of belief or conscience. At various times he encourages the Catholic Thomas More AND various Protestant heretics to chill out, go along to get along, keep their faith private and not insist on martyrdom.(less)

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I don't really understand the bit about Anselma. I understand she was a lover of Cromwell's, and that she's on the tapestry as the queen of Sheba, but why is she on that? I'm only part way through the book, though.

Elizabeth Milliken My understanding of that is that the figure of Sheba on the tapestry resembles Anselma, and Cromwell therefore thinks of her as Anselma.

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Who do they mean by "the old king"?