The Mirror & the Light: A Novel

764 pages 5 stars This is both a remarkable and entertaining book. The third book in a trilogy about the life and times of Thomas Cromwell. Raised up from his blacksmith/brewer's son beginnings, through his travels in Italy and elsewhere on the continent to the very heights of King Henry VIII's court. Protege of and successor to Cardinal Wolsey. Lord Privy Seal. Second only to the king - Vicegerent. Member of the prestigious Order of the Garter open to only twenty-five men in the realm. Earl of Essex, made so shortly before his death. The book begins with the aftermath of Queen Anne's death and flashes back to previous time to fill in Cromwell’s life and quarrels with Anne, his friends and his awful home life as a child. The book talks about Walter, Cromwell’s father and the terrible temper he had and how he was very mean to his children. It discusses his now deceased wife and daughters, his nephew Richard and his adoption of Rafe and his relationship with his son Gregory. His relationships with women – great and common. The Pilgrimage of Grace is covered. Next is the marriage of the king to Jane Seymour, the subsequent birth of a son and the tragic death of Queen Jane. The book continues to cover the disastrous liaison with Anna of Cleves which was instigated by Thomas. Thomas must walk a fine line between those who would destroy him (for they are mostly jealous), and the all powerful mercurial temperament of the king. Thomas had a vision of the future that was far beyond the understanding of those around him. Ms. Mantel paints a very real, colorful and comprehensive picture of the 16th Century court of Henry VIII. The reader is stalking the palaces and the streets along with the characters in the book. While he certainly looked out for himself, he was also compassionate. He “saved” people from the king's displeasure or even certain death. These actions turned out to be to his detriment later in his life when those who were jealous and the king being tired of him took against him. It still surprises and confounds me (although it shouldn't, having read as much about Henry VIII as I have), how quickly the king would turn against a person. Was it his knock on the head during his jousting accident, or his bad leg that tormented him so much that he acted so unpredictably? We'll never know. “I should only ever tell the king what he ought to do, not what he could do. For if a lion knows his own strength, no man could control him.” – Thomas More

This book concludes Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. Mantel artfully places the reader in the room as Cromwell, a lowly-born blacksmith’s son, becomes Henry VIII’s proxy to further the King’s interests, whether they be financial, marital, theological, or emotional. Unfortunately for him, he, Cromwell, the Lord Privy Seal is also subject to his master’s mercurial nature. In this last book, the tables finally turn, and his enemies, Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, and Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, get the upper hand and turn Henry against him. As the book opens, Anne Boleyn has just been beheaded, and Cromwell uses his political schemes to improve both his own family’s fortune as well as the King’s. He continues to garnish abbeys and Catholic real estate and divide the riches among the nobility. Henry marries Jane Seymour, from a noble English family, which brings marital happiness but does little to secure England’s increasingly fractious position against France and Spain. Upon Seymour’s death after childbirth, the stage is set for Henry to start looking for another wife, this time to consolidate an alliance with Germany. He chooses Anne of Cleves, a choice Cromwell is wary of, and this ill-conceived match begins Cromwell’s downfall. This historical fiction novel puts flesh on a figure known for his dizzying rise from poverty to become King Henry’s most trusted confidante and advisor, Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal. Mantel writes sharp, witty dialogue that reveals her characters’ strengths and weaknesses. Cromwell, as she portrays him, is visited by his past in dreams and in waking, seeing the ghosts of friends, family, and even Bishop Wolsey, whom he once served. He is a crafty maneuverer, an ambitious schemer, and a skilled reader of the King’s whims and moods. Until the day comes that he falls out of Henry’s favor. I wouldn’t recommend reading this book before reading the first two in the series. It takes some effort to retain the names of all the courtiers, politicians, clergy, and principal players in the Cromwell drama, but Mantel has provided a helpful guide. That said, this is an outstanding conclusion to the trilogy. I recommend the series to anyone who appreciates masterful writing and has an interest in English history.

This grand finale to the Cromwell trilogy is just superb. While the first two volumes told us the story of Cromwell's rise in rather fast-paced plots, this is slow and quite poetic. This is about the fall of the tragic hero. Mantel makes Cromwell a tragic hero, a man whose tragic flaw brought him down. He rose higher than the king himself. The story is told with amazing dexterity. The history of the time comes alive in this bulky novel. Give it time and you'll relish it. It's not a potboiler.

This third volume of the Hilary Mantel’s great masterpiece on the life & times of Thomas Cromwell, who rose from a modest birth to become one of Henry VIII's principal court councillors is once again full of intrigue and excitement. A deeply satisfying & rewarding read it reveals the viciousness of the past English monarchy & its abject decadence. The present English kingdom whose roots are completely entwined in the former ones (a duke of Norfolk still exists as I write) deserves to be examined carefully. This work of literature may help! It is high time this vile caste system is abolished as well as the disgusting appropriation of wealth it survives on. All it does is is to perpetuate the immoral disparity of incomes in what is supposed to be a democracy. The trilogy also illustrates beautifully how we humans will go to extreme actions to promote whatever religion we believe in. Often, in so doing, disregarding the very essence of the creed we adhere to. This remains, unfortunately, a current theme in our present so-called humanist world… I hope Mantel wins another Booker prize as she did with each of the first two volumes. She deserves it! There are many lessons to be learned from these books, and the prose transports the reader back to early Tudor times with the ceremonies of the court, the corruption of its members & the ways of its nasty reformation.

What's not to like about this book? It makes fascinating reading. If, like me, you have already read Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies then this final book in the trilogy must be on your reading list. The final years of Thomas Cromwell, from his amazing rise in politics and power despite only being the son of a blacksmith, his influence on Henry VIII, how he managed to rid Henry of both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn and finally failed to marry Henry to Anne of Cleves which was the start of his downfall from power. It is exciting, well written, full of historical details - domestic and political - surrounding people who now come to life 500 years later. Henry is a querulous king who never doubts his divine right, but Cromwell has great influence over him which, towards the end dwindles and leads to Cromwell's execution in 1540. The perfect final book detailing Cromwell's life in London , and the lives of the rich and mighty in the 1500's. A must-read!

5 stelle per diversi motivi: consegnato prima del previsto, conforme a quanto descritto e con carattere leggibili senza fatica. Un romanzo che può appassionare, ben scritto .L'ultimo di una trilogia. Riguardo i primi due volumi ho visto la versione cinematografica della BBC, comprato sempre con Amazon. Una sorpresa gradita con attori convincenti.

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