hilary mantel the mirror and the light review

For when all is said, you are a blacksmith’s son. But you have no affinity of your own, no great family at your back. The councillor Fitzwilliam has been a go-between, helping rid of the concubine. If he had not died on the road to London, Henry would have struck off his head, cardinal’s hat and all. All his dignities as churchman could not save him.

But if he withdraws it? You know the cardinal’s fate. Because if the new marriage does not last, what have you? You have Henry’s favour. Cromwell will have to use all of his skills and count on his few allies to keep him safe. A popular rebellion, the Pilgrimage of Grace, the most threatening of Henry’s reign, has risen with Cromwell and his policies as their main target. But even he could not predict the trouble brewing in the north of England. Among them are understanding people and their motives, drawing talented people towards him and his diligence in never making an error in word or deed that could be used against him. No less tricky is managing the King himself, whose temper, reasonableness and predictability, like his physical self, has never been more volatile.Ĭromwell has built security, wealth and power despite his humble origins through the exercise of his various strengths. Even more difficult is keeping England, and its small holding on the continent, safe from the King of France and the Holy Roman Emperor. So, they ask – when chance serves, what revenge will Thomas Cromwell seek on his sovereign, his prince?’Ĭromwell still has to manage and navigate the various factions in the Court and Kingdom those who think Anne’s downfall will mean Princess Mary will be reinstated as heir and a reconciliation with Rome will follow those who think Cromwell owes them favours for his rise in power and success in the Boleyn matter, and the King’s illegitimate son who thinks he could be put in line to the throne as well.

‘I only report what the people are saying.’ ‘They ask,’ Wriothesley says, ‘who was the greatest of the cardinal’s enemies? They answer, the king. He says, ‘If I wanted revenge on Wolsey’s enemies, I would have to strike down half the nation.’ They look at those who slighted him, in his lifetime – Brereton, Norris – though Norris was not the worst…’ They say, look at what Cromwell has wreaked, in two years, on Wolsey’s enemies.

‘People have been talking of the cardinal.

Hilary mantel the mirror and the light review