Read Me Bookclub: Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Read Me is an initiative of the doctoral researchers of literature at the University of Antwerp and De Groene Waterman. In this session of the bookclub we'll discuss Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. The session will be hosted by Nooshin and the discussion will be in English.
The Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel has been rightfully lauded since the publication of its first instalment (which won the first of two Booker Prizes the trilogy went on to accrue). It is, yes, a hefty historical fiction series. And yes, it does tell the oft-retold story of (some of) Henry VIII’s divorced, beheaded, or dead wives. But this is no mere gimmick or juicy bedtime story. The books follow the shrewd mind of Thomas Cromwell, the cunning son of a blacksmith who moved up in the ranks and became the chief minister of the king. Cromwell has historically been depicted as a power-hungry villain as opposed to Thomas More’s angelic man-of-his-word (A Man for All Seasons being the most glaring example). Mantel’s gentle, intelligent, and drily humorous pen, however, gives Cromwell and his rise and fall the reevaluation they have long deserved. A rewarding text through and through.
