Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Mar 17, 2020 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-heard, read-my-own-damn-books

Bought this in hardcover, never got to it. But I finally got through the library hold list and did the audiobook. Which, given that Simon Vance reads it, really helped my "who is speaking now?" problem in reading Wolf Hall (when all the characters are dudes, "he" doesn't help much). Mantel also helped this problem by stating "he, Cromwell" or "he, Henry" which also helps the reader.

What also improved this narrative was that the book took place over a much shorter timeline - approximately a year ...more

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Jan 16, 2021 Kerry rated it really liked it

Shelves: fromthelibrary, historical, female-author

Hmm. I think I liked the first one better than this, though I read that one years ago (wait, just in September 2018 apparently?) so who can tell.

Wolf Hall felt like the story of Thomas Cromwell, in the court of Henry VIII. This one felt more like the story of the downfall of Anne Boleyn, told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell. If that makes sense? In the first one he was a real person with a family and experiences of his own, whereas in this one he just feels like a schemer who occasional ...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Donna rated it really liked it

Shelves: twisted-sisters, historical-fiction

This book is part two of the story of Thomas Cromwell, adviser to King Henry VIII of England...he of the six wives. In book one Cromwell helps Henry get rid of Katherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn. In this novel Cromwell helps Henry get rid of Anne so he can have Jane Seymour. For Henry it's all about getting a male heir. While this book works as a stand-alone, it is helpful to have read Wolf Hall to understand Cromwell's motivation at the end. According to Cromwell, everyone he arres ...more

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