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bethfishreads 's review for:
The Cardinal
by Alison Weir
Historical fiction about Cardinal Thomas Wolsey by historian Alison Weir.
This is the story of how Wolsey rose from his roots as the son of a butcher to become King Henry VIII's close friend and most trusted adviser. It also follows Wolsey's fall from grace.
Wolsey was a complicated man with great ambitions. He didn't always have control over his life path, but he took advantage of every opportunity. The focus of the book is solidly on Wolsey. Although Henry VIII, Cromwell, the Boleyn's, and other familiar people from era make appearances in the book, Weir presents everything in terms of Wolsey's perspective or how events impacted his life. This is not a book about life in Henry VIII's court.
Here some of the things I learned:
This is the story of how Wolsey rose from his roots as the son of a butcher to become King Henry VIII's close friend and most trusted adviser. It also follows Wolsey's fall from grace.
Wolsey was a complicated man with great ambitions. He didn't always have control over his life path, but he took advantage of every opportunity. The focus of the book is solidly on Wolsey. Although Henry VIII, Cromwell, the Boleyn's, and other familiar people from era make appearances in the book, Weir presents everything in terms of Wolsey's perspective or how events impacted his life. This is not a book about life in Henry VIII's court.
Here some of the things I learned:
- Wolsey advocated for world peace, and tried to direct Henry away from war.
- Wolsey never wanted to go into the church.
- Wolsey fell in love with Joan Larke and struggled (but failed) to balance his political/church goals with his personal life.
- Wolsey was vain and rich, but he did love Henry like a son and in his later life was loved by his parishioners.
- Though Anne Boleyn was instrumental in Wolsey's downfall, she plays a very small part in the book.
Alison Weir knows her subject and has a very readable writing style. Although this is a work of fiction, I trust Weir to have gotten the facts right. I learned more about the time period as well as gained a new understand of the cardinal.
The audiobook was performed by Rosalyn Landor. I don't know why, but it always takes me a minute or two to get used to her voice before settle into it. Landor hit that sweet spot of fading into the background while still being expressive and engaging. She allowed Weir's style to shine.
Thanks to Recorded Books for the review copy.