Thomas Cromwell by Hans Holbein

Winner of the booker Prize, rave reviews (among others “a truly great English novel”) all over the place and a historic novel: how could this possibly go wrong?

It starts out well. Thomas Cromwell as a young blacksmith’s son who gets beaten up by his dad on a regular basis. He flees, maybe killing a man, maybe not: it’s all part of the legend he will soon be as he rises far beyond his class and turns into Henry VIII’s closest adviser.

Henry is trying to rid himself of Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn and Cromwell is just the man to lend a hand.

To be honest: it’s kinda boring. I’ve been reading Samson’s series on the (post) Cromwell era and it’s just so much more exciting! Mantel’s tale drags on and on and the promise of Wolf Hall, where exciting, stuff is happening, never actually materialises. Of course Wolf Hall symbolises the end of Cromwell: it’s where Jane Seymour lives and most of us remember what happened to Henry VIII’s wives. Brave or boring? Well, I’ll go with brave to end the story as if it were open ended.

However, though I never liked Thomas Moore, I find the goody two shoes-version of Cromwell, who never carries a grudge, is kind to dogs, women and children and works disinterestedly for a better Britain where men can worship in freedom rings false.

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