Wolf Hall is historical fiction perfection. Mantel writes of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn from the more unusual perspective of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful lawyer at court who was widely disliked during his lifetime and not remembered favorably by history. Instead, Mantel portrays Cromwell as a loving family man, staunchly loyal to Cardinal Wolsey, and as one of the more intelligent and cultured men at court. Wolf Hall paints a vivid and historically accurate portrait of the most fascinating time in English history, lit with characters that the New York Times calls “Scorchingly well rendered”.
Recommended by Kate