Reviews

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

blissful_day's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

sdpannell's review against another edition

Didn't like the prose style and found myself fighting through every page.

annieg4444's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Hillary Mantell is brilliant 

jaimemt_reads's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An excellent read.  Highly recommend.

kttnmttn's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

Really good book. Gave a deeply human view of the infamous Tudor Court cast of characters, plus an interesting look at how the normal people (women, mostly) of the age lived. I took a couple of points off because the writing style requires getting used to. I also didn't love how the story wrapped up with

the trial and death of Thomas More

and feel like the ending lines only work if you know what is coming next in history. Speaking of, I am looking forward to the next book in the trilogy, Bring Up the Bodies, and am anticipating liking that one even more!! 

zisforzoey's review against another edition

Not for me

debout's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

tildahlia's review against another edition

2.0

So I feel like I didn't do this book justice, but TLDR.

alexandramue's review against another edition

funny informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

english_lady03's review against another edition

5.0

I listened on the audio version of this about two years ago, and of course I've seen the TV adaptation at least twice. I consider it one of the best historical novels of the last several decades.

Readers of authors like Philippa Gregory be warned: this is NOT a fluffy romance. Its almost like a political thriller. It is one of the best depictions of Tudor court politics that I've probably ever seen (or heard), so if you want realism. Read this. If you want pretty romance and silly fluff, don't.

Not everyone will agree with the depiction of certain historical figures, especially Sir Thomas More, and of course, the protagonist, Thomas Cromwell himself, but this is a novel that makes you think and helps you see the world from the perspective of a 16th century person. Well worth the read.