Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel

"Bring up the bodies!" the famous cry to bring the accused of London's Tower to stand trial, words uttered the days of Anne Boleyn's trial, as well as the cases of those accused of treason alongside her. Hilary Mantel won a second Man Booker in 2011 for this novel, steeping even greater anticipation upon a novel retelling such a dramatic turn of events; Henry VIII can not divorce a second wife yet would be rid of the tempestuous Anne Boleyn, despite the great lengths he resorted to in making her Queen of England. I will spare you more back story; yet Mantel breathes furious energy into a histoical moment that has become 'old hat' in modern fiction.

Mantel's characterizations are even more important in the follow up novel to Wolf Hall, as Anne's fiery personality goes under the microscope as the mousy Jane Seymour attracts the King's attentions. And so Thomas Cromwell is called in again, to make legal the parade of women it may take Henry to get a son, an heir to the throne. Tensions burn even hotter in this novel, and the pacing increases as Mantel tells this particular story with even more dialogue, relishing in the various personalities and their power-mongering ways. It makes for a more accessible read than Wolf Hall did, with less background and slow simmering, but all of the elegance in phrasing of the 

Master Cromwell shows his first signs of fear, as he knows that his loyalty to the King will not protect him from all of the ambitious courtiers, especially when he moves to put the grasping Anne aside the only resounding way possible: execution. 

The political witch hunt as Mantel portrays it may not have every last historical detail. It's an overwhelming chess board of names and titles, and I personally don't believe that Mantel's fiction loses any power or integrity by dropping some subtle elements of the history. Better to pace it just so, flesh out wholly what is represented, than become tedious, especially as so many have commented that they found Wolf Hall such work. 

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

I've noticed lots of people since 2009, when it was awarded the coveted Man Booker Award, asking about this novel, or commenting on it (despite the fact that they hadn't read it). Indeed, I am the first person in four years that I've spoken to (yes, I talk to myself sometimes) to have even picked it up with serious intentions. My thoughts, despite years of "it seems so dry," and "how many hundred pages?! OF HISTORY?" I loved it!

Thomas Cromwell is a trader/lawyer/jack of all trades in sixteenth century England. His king, Henry VIII, has no male heir and wants to move on to a second wife, something the Catholic Church and its representatives from Rome will not stand for. So, how to make it legal? Call in Thomas Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey's man about town. This first installment of Cromwellian history follows Wolsey's downfall and Cromwell's rise as he clears a Parliamentary path to legitimize Anne Boleyn and her progeny (spoiler alert: Princess Elizabeth). The political intrigue runs deep; check out the awesome family histories and lists of players that front the novel! Things get complicated with all of that self interest and ambition, and it makes for a fascinating read, especially with such a brilliantly imagined lead character!

Yes, it is a bit dry and meandering. Mantel is building a trilogy detailing the nefarious Thomas Cromwell's rise to power, and his past is very vague in terms of historical record. Not much is actually known of his education and background, as there are contradicting accounts of the years he spent abroad. Mantel wisely uses this as a way to build her lead's enigma, enhancing his impressive career of power-brokering with a seemingly shady start and endless mystery. Indeed, perhaps Ms. Mantel means not only to keep Henry VIII's lords and ladies at court on the fence in regards to Cromwell's self-made ways and ambitions, but readers as well... food for thought.

“But it is no use to justify yourself. It is no good to explain. It is weak to be anecdotal. It is wise to conceal the past even if there is nothing to conceal. A man's power is in the half-light, in the half-seen movements of his hand and the unguessed-at expression of his face. It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.”

It's an era that Hollywood and popular historical fiction have beaten into the ground, yet Mantel's brilliantly researched new viewpoint via Cromwell breathes new life and grit into it. The dialogue is quick and witty, the descriptions politically charged. Mantel's cast is thoroughly immersed in the chess match; every player a motive and every move a backlash. It's such a complicated feat, you have to sit back and be enamored at the patience it required to build such a beautifully wrought thing!