Customer Reviews

Bring Up the Bodies

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'His children are falling from the sky,' is the arresting opening sentence of the second novel in Mantel's trilogy, exploring the life of Thomas Cromwell at the court of Henry VIII. Hawks at the king's hunting party in Wiltshire have been named after Cromwell's dead daughters, an odd memorial, but one that immediately reminds us of Cromwell's loss of those dear to him, and the cut-throat world in which he is now a key player. 'When they look down they see nothing but their prey, and the borrowed plumes of the hunters; they see a flittering, flinching universe, a universe filled with their dinner.'

As has been observed by others, Mantel is writing at the height of her powers and her language is full of delights. She doesn't burden us with her research, which effortlessly provides the structure to her novel - it is her sensory description which allows us to think we know what it is to inhabit the world of Henry Tudor. She conjures up - with even more skill perhaps - the workings of Cromwell's mind and the political machinations required to serve his king and to remove and execute a queen, according to the law of England. Cromwell has read Machiavelli and clearly thinks he could write better if he had the time - but there are always papers, always business to be attended to if the kingdom is to prosper.

Wolf Hall is an extraordinary novel, fully deserving of its prizes and the praise it gathered; Bring Up the Bodies is its near equal. If Wolf Hall was very much about the fall of Wolsey and the rise of Cromwell to high office, Bring Up the Bodies is about Cromwell holding on to power while Anne Boleyn loses it, and the cost of that to both. Mantel is writing a trilogy and this makes sense for the second act. Wolsey is still a character in this novel; his spirit guiding Cromwell, his loyalties and actions. Anne Boleyn loses her influence when she fails to provide Henry with a son and heir. Cromwell and Anne Boleyn supported each other in their rise to power but Cromwell notes the signs that the king's interest is moving and determines not to repeat Wolsey's mistake of not fulfilling the king's wishes quickly enough. The long-standing fascination with the Tudors is such that most of us know the plot - but Mantel triumphs in creating suspense and pathos for Anne and in keeping us strongly aligned with Cromwell's point of view, even as he schemes and orchestrates the evidence against her.

About halfway though the novel there is an pivotal scene where Henry is believed dead after a jousting accident. Mantel describes Cromwell's thought processes as the court panics and the country is on the brink of chaos. One moment he is caught up in emotion as he gazes at the king, 'Henry is waxen, and he sees the shocking tenderness of human flesh evicted from steel. He is lying on his back, all his magnificent height stretched out on a piece of ocean-blue cloth. His limbs are straight. He looks uninjured. He touches his face. It is still warm. Fate has not spoiled him or mangled. He is intact, a present for the gods. They are taking him back as he was sent.' The next moment he is thinking how he will pre-empt a civil war. It is a tour de force which both informs us of Cromwell's character, allowing us to make sense of his later actions, and gives us some insight into the fragility of the peace the Tudor reign has brought.

Henry's fickleness is clear throughout this novel, the renaissance prince is shown to be increasingly narcissistic and Cromwell has to draw on all his powers to manage him. It was part of Hilary Mantel's genius to tell this story from Cromwell's viewpoint. He is a man who has gained power through merit and hard work rather than by birth and privilege - and that appeals to our age and sensibilities. He is powerful and yet he knows that his power is vested in the king and in the value he brings him. Later in the novel Henry convulses with rage and says 'I really believe, Cromwell, that you think you are king, and I am the blacksmith's boy.' Cromwell is able to avert Henry's rage - whilst thinking that Henry would not have survived the smithy and the need for a cool head around fire and molten metal - but he knows that he will only survive if he gives the king money and the possibility of peace and an heir and so he goes to work.

Mantel has a mischievous way of inserting lines into her narrative that seem to come from Elizabethan plays not yet written - just one more enjoyable part of this rich and exciting novel.

If you read nothing else this summer - read this

After the superbly crafted Wolf Hall no one could have expected the sequel, Bring Up The Bodies to extend and develop the stylistic writing and brilliantly realized imagery- and yet it does, triumphantly so that as a deliberately shorter 'middle book' of a trilogy the story of Cromwell and the fall of Ann Boleyn, is both dark and totally gripping. This is no filler middle book but a brilliant tour de force of daring and beautiful writing. Whilst in Wolf Hall the narrative imagery and establishment of characters/setting seemed to dominate here it is the dialogue sequences that stand out with wonderfully crafted confrontations between Cromwell and Boleyn and as her world implodes the supposed "lovers" that Cromwell entraps. The daring also comes in Cromwell's thought world as he occasionally lapses into fantasy reverie about the situations that he both creates and is entangled in. His increasing isolation (as he works late and almost constantly) is offset by endless summonses and orders from the king to deal with Boleyn and engineer the marriage to Jane Seymour. In the background there are constant references to Wolsey and More as victims of the kings capricious whims or Boleyns supposed scheming. Within all this Mantel finds time for dark humour (call me rizly) and the wonderful mangling of his name in mock affectionate terms (Henry calls him crumb, Boleyn mangles his name in pseudo French pronunciation) so that he appears to be a shapeshifter- Cromwell uses a protean and prodigious energy to serve all his "masters" whilst himself remaining the master of his own destiny, yet enemies remind him of his probable fate under Henry if he puts a foot wrong. Mantel is highly skilled, sincere and totally in control of her material. Originally this was never intended to be a trilogy but as a reader I am grateful for one more volume that will see Cromwell meet his maker- for now mantel is his maker and overall she has produced a stunning piece of work- worthy of the booker longlist and a good tip to win overall. Its a mesmerising read in what will be Mantels tour de force- her finest body of work.

Had Amazon given me the option, I think I would have given this 3.5 stars. It's a beautifully written book which is, at times, touching, funny, tense and always intelligent. I certainly devoured it. Nevertheless, I found it a lesser novel to Wolf Hall for several reasons. (Minor spoilers below if you are not familiar with Tudor history).

Firstly, whilst it carried on the tale of Cromwell, I didn't feel that it added much thematically to what had already been explored in Wolf Hall. There were additional considerations on statecraft and age but so much territory had already been covered that it felt like an addendum to the previous novel rather than a discreet work. Compare it, for example, to "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God", which tell two halves of a story but use the two halves to explore quite distinct themes; consequently, both Claudius novels feel fresh in a way that Bring up the Bodies doesn't.

I also found the plot less rewarding - I think because it deals with a difficult transitory period concerning the pomp and fall of Anne Boleyn. Therefore, the actions lend themselves less easily to a novel than the passage of Cromwell from Putney bruiser to Master of the Rolls and Secretary to the King as told in Wolf Hall. There is a less clear direction of travel for our main protagonist and he has less agency in the journey he goes on, at times seemingly 'going through the motions'. This sets up some nice comparisons with the fall of Wolsey but I couldn't escape the feeling that the interrogation of Boleyn's lovers, for example, was a less brilliant literary execution (pardon the pun) than that of Thomas More in the first novel. It just seemed more pedestrian and, I think, that is because Mantel had less juicy historical ingredients to play with.

I can't help but feel that this is a bridging novel (I believe there is a third novel en route?) and, consequently, is largely designed to get the main characters from the end of Wolf Hall (the 'rise of Cromwell') to the beginning of the next novel (the 'fall of Cromwell'). That is not to say that it isn't good - it is very good - but whereas Wolf Hall was a book that functioned wonderfully as a self contained exploration of plot, character and theme this novel lacks both the internal coherence of those three factors and the excitement of so much novelty and invention.

I can't help but wish that Mantel had cleansed her pallet with another project between Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies so she could come to the material fresh. Sadly, I imagine that the effort of holding the life of Cromwell and the constituent themes of the book is too taxing to break it up like that!

Bring Up the Bodies is the sequel to Wolf Hall and the second of Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell Trilogy. As a continuation of its predecessor, there is little stylistic progression, although the novel does have a tighter structure. There is a newfound concision, and a focus stripped of random digressions and epoch-jumping shifts. But, whereas the first book had an admirable and shaggy freshness, Bring Up the Bodies suffers from its conventional polish. Mantel, then, has obviously listened to her critics, and gutted the book of unnecessary scenes and characters, grammatical impediments and chronological complications: all the things, in short, that made Wolf Hall such a challenging read.

If Wolf Hall charted the rise of Thomas Cromwell and Anne Boleyn, then Bring Up the Bodies documents the latter's downfall at the hands of the former. Cromwell doesn't suffer from the arrogance that underlies Anne's 'streak of stubbornness'; no, he is simply a master of the ingratiating manoeuvre. He also has the gift of uncanny foresight, for he knows that 'The days of the moneylender have arrived', an age in which 'banker sits down with banker, and kings are their waiting boys'. So despite Anne's proficiency as 'a strategist', she fails to see the monarchy's diminishing power in a world run by the 'swaggering privateer'.

Cromwell remembers every tiny slight, every stray word or deed. It is a skill that helps him avenge those who celebrated the fall of his mentor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The last third of the book becomes distinctly Orwellian, as the terrifying interrogations and executions hint at an emerging totalitarianism. Boleyn's promiscuous hiccups, and her inability to produce a male heir, are seized by Cromwell as an opportunity to liquidate any undesirable elements in the king's retinue. It is a brutal cull based on a despotic logic, and one exemplified by Cromwell's analysis of Anne's disgrace: 'if she was not false to him in body she was so in words, and if not in deeds then in dreams'. For Cromwell, then, 'Queens come and go', and when the 'requirements have changed...the facts...[change] behind us': he has the power to rewrite history.

But the novel's denouement finds Cromwell increasingly isolated: he has only the king's favour. Yet, as the novels show, those who reject, or lose, the role of Henry's happy henchman rarely prosper. He has 'spun his enemies to face him, to join him' and now he must 'spin them away again' to ensure survival. His arranging of Henry's marriage to Jane Seymour has pleased the traditionalists, but the world of Tudor politics is fickle: he's merely bought time. There are those who feel Cromwell will move against the king, in a final push to topple those who toppled Wolsey, but he is shrewder than that. Nevertheless, power always undermines itself, and the final instalment will see Cromwell's omnipotence slowly unravel: Thomas Cromwell will fall.

In her previous novel, Wolf Hall, author Hilary Mantel, recreates the dramatic story of Sir Thomas More's trial and execution in July, 1535, during the reign of King Henry VIII. As she opens this novel, set just three months later, More's downfall is still fresh in the minds of everyone at Henry's court. Thomas Cromwell, who prosecuted More on behalf of the king, is now Henry's chief minister, firmly ensconced in the power structure of the Tudor Court. He will have plenty of work to do over the next seven or eight months. Now that Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon is annulled, Henry has married Anne Boleyn, but he has tired of her and does not believe she will bear him a son. Assigning Cromwell to find a way to free him from his new queen, Henry begins to pursue the plain and modest Jane Seymour, whose virginal ways stand in sharp contrast to those of Anne.

The personal, political, and religious conflicts among the families and courtiers of Katherine, Anne Boleyn, and eventually Jane Seymour create myriad complications for Henry and his ministers, especially Thomas Cromwell, who must always watch his back. Henry's political relationships with France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire are also perpetually changing. War constantly threatens, none of the countries trust each other, and secret negotiations regarding marriages of state, the exchange of envoys, and the creation of secret alliances are always under way. Henry has broken with the papacy, and he, Cromwell, and the priests in England are constantly wrangling about the practical issues of their church vs. the papacy. Recently, Henry has decided to seize monasteries for their assets and lands.

Author Hilary Mantel focuses the novel on Cromwell, vividly recreating the complex maneuvering on all levels as Henry becomes impatient to be freed of Anne. As Cromwell develops a plan which will satisfy Henry, the characters and the period come vibrantly to life, despite the intricate genealogies and the political complexity. The devious plot to entrap Anne and those who support her unfolds with a kind of panache and care for realistic details that are rarely seen in fiction - a scheme so clever and full of malice that it sometimes feels like a secret memoir from the period. The lively dialogue, often full of dramatic irony as the characters talk at cross purposes, conveys information as well as the characters' feelings. At the same time, it also inspires feelings within the reader - anger, resentment, or even pity for these characters, all of whom are pawns. The degree to which the women, especially, are the lowliest pawns of all in the great game of court politics is obvious, as the grand plot against Anne Boleyn reveals.

As the action moves inexorably to the novel's climax with arrests, trials, and gruesome executions, the reader understands how all this came about, and feels not only like a witness to history but like a participant in it. When Anne ultimately faces trial, the reader marvels at all that has happened in the mere seven months (and four hundred+ pages) since the novel opened. Mantel's writing is so effective on so grand a scale that this novel feels like an absolute shoo-in for the 2012 Booker Prize.

Having greatly enjoyed the Booker-winning Wolf Hall, I avidly awaited Bring Up The Bodies, and was not disappointed. Whereas Wolf Hall takes us on a longer narrative centred around the evolving power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII, Bring Up The Bodies is a more concentrated novel which deals primarily with the intrique and powerplays of various noble families during the time of Anne Boleyn's fall from grace. Like Wolf Hall, it's a page-turner, lovingly crafted and full of witty observations, conveying a real sense of life at court in the 16th century. Hilary Mantel expertly describes the suspicion and paranoia which abound as Cromwell orchestrates the arrest and execution of a series of men - including Anne's own brother - who are alleged to have bedded the queen, a woman of immense sexual magnetism for many. It's a different novel from Wolf Hall, and whilst it continues many of the same themes, it is much more focused on a short period of nine months in 1535-36, with most of the action in fact taking place in a three-week period in mid-1536; as a result, Cromwell's power and control are clearly evident, though even he is shown to be vulnerable to some of the intrigue and to Henry's mood swings. Apparently, Ms Mantel plans at least one more novel in the series, and I look forward to it.

Bring Up the Bodies (2012) by Hilary Mantel is the continuation of Wolf Hall. It's about Thomas Cromwell during the fall of Anne Boleyn. I liked it. Two quotes:

P. 66 about Cromwell's early life: "From Florence he went to Venice, to Rome: and when he dreams of those cities, as sometimes he does, a residual swagger trails him into his day, a trace of the young Italian he was. He thinks back to his younger self with no indulgence, but no blame either. He has always done what was needed to survive, and if his judgement of what was necessary was sometimes questionable ... that is what it is to be young. Nowadays he takes poor scholars into his family. There's always a job for them, some niche where they can scribble away at tracts on good government or translations of the psalms. But he will also take in young men who are rough and wild, as he was rough and wild, because he knows if he is patient with them they will be loyal to him."

P. 351 regarding Cromwell's plans to eliminate enemies (his and the King's) at court: "Look, he says: once you have exhausted the process of negotiation and compromise, once you have fixed on the destruction of an enemy, that destruction must be swift and it must be perfect. Before you even glance in his direction, you should have his name on a warrant, the ports blocked, his wife and friends bought, his heir under your protection, his money in your strong room and his dog running to your whistle. Before he wakes in the morning, you should have the axe in your hand."

Wow, it takes some genius to tell a story and make it gripping when the reader already knows the ending. This book centres on the downfall of Anne Boleyn, so anyone with an interest in Tudor history already knows the final episode in her life. You've probably already read many versions by a range of authors, so you know the names of the characters involved, and you THINK you know the story so well already.

Ah, but you've not read the story told from Thomas Cromwell's point of view... and there lies the difference. Mantel has managed to make the dusty-sounding Thomas Cromwell a living breathing man, someone you feel you know. And you do know him, if you've read Wolf Hall, but in this book you will learn more about his nature and his life. His wonderful home, always busy and filled with people he loves; his loyalty to his old master, Wolsey; his spider's web of witnesses to entrap the Queen; his ruthless dispatch of the young men accused of adultery with Anne.

Again, the book has underlying humour, sometimes Cromwell comes out with some corking one liners!
The character of Henry is shaded in a bit more here, too. He is really like a large child: he wants to hear only good news, he wants quick solutions, and he wants a new wife, so Cromwell has to sort it for him.

The minor characters are good value, too - Call-me is there again, as is the delightful Ambassador Chapuys, Cromwell's neighbour and friend.

I loved this book, there are so many layers to the man, and Mantel reveals them so well. The passages where he is thinking of his dead daughters are very moving, and the moment when the king is injured jousting reveals how precarious Cromwell's position really is. The regular flashbacks to his earlier life abroad are good value, too.

I feel bereft now I have finished the book, and can't wait for the next one. Well done, Hilary!

I like stories based on historical happenings, irrespective of where they took place. Bring up the Bodies is one of those remarkable stories that take you back to time and implant there in a manner that is gripping. With echoes of stories involving traditional monarchs like in Disciples of Fortune, or the King and I, this story is rich and revealing.It is an excellently written story that I finished without being conscious of the flow of time. The characters are amazing and they are true to life due to the wonderful portrayal of their human sides.Smooth writing, fabulous descriptions, amazing dialogue and gripping pacing are the elements that made this story an accomplished piece of writing.

Sophie Elmhirst has recently written a long piece in the New Statesman about Hilary Mantel in which she says that "her Cromwell books are a combination of wild imagining and unimpeachable accuracy".

Could anyone put it better?

Wolf Hall tells the story of Thomas Cromwell's unlikely rise to prominence from humble beginnings and an abused childhood to his position as Cardinal Wolsey's 'right hand man' where he comes to the attention of Henry.

The wonderfully entitled Bring Up The Bodies (the call from the Tower of London to bring the accused to trial) continues the saga of Henry's overarching quest for a male heir. Anne Boleyn's meteoric rise and catastrophic fall from grace is a familiar story. But in Hilary Mantel's hands it fairly crackles with electro-charged excitement. Writing in the present tense gives the reader such a sense of immediacy, as though Henry's demand for a mate who will comply with his increasingly desperate mission to acquire a son is hot news. Indeed, as Sophie Elmhirst says in her New Statesman piece, it is almost as though history might be re-written: could it possibly be that Anne will knock out a boy and hold on to her head? Or will Thomas Cromwell have to use his prodigious wiles and innate ability for deadly intrigue to rid Henry of this duff and disappointing baby-making machine? There is one particular dialogue scene, about a third of the way through the book, between Anne and Cremuel (as she calls him) that is so good that it gave me - literally - tingles of pleasure and I had to put the book down for a few moments and just take a little time out to enjoy the thrill of reading such exceptional writing.

Hilary Mantel's use of the pro-noun "he" for Cromwell is controversial; once you attune yourself to it though, you will see it for the magnificent master-stroke that it is. For the Cromwell "he" is, in fact, the Mantel "I". Mantel inhabits the very mind, heart, soul and body of Thomas Cromwell. And this, I believe, is what makes this author the outstanding British writer of her generation.

If Hilary Mantel wins the Booker on 16th October, she will be the first British author to win twice. Do it, Booker panel. Bring up the accolades.