An accessible and authoritative companion to the bestselling Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, published after the third and final book, The Mirror and the Light.
Wolf Hall Companion gives an historian’s view of what we know about Thomas Cromwell, one of the most powerful men of the Tudor age and the central character in Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy.
Covering the key court and political characters from the books, this companion guide also works as a concise Tudor history primer. Alongside Thomas Cromwell, the author explores characters including Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cranmer, Jane Seymour, Henry VIII, Thomas Howard, Cardinal Wolsey and Richard Fox. The important places in the court of Henry VIII are introduced and put into context, including Hampton Court, the Tower of London, Cromwell’s home Austin Friars, and of course Wolf Hall. The author explores not only the real history of these people and places, but also Hilary Mantel’s interpretation of them.
Having read Hilary Mantel’s trilogy – most of it – and experiencing some confusion about historical events, I was thrilled to see this book mentioned in a discussion of Tudor history and couldn’t snag it fast enough.
It’s a short book, but it fits the bill perfectly by highlighting instances where Mantel used literary license and when she was true to historical fact. There are also plenty of examples in between as well as historical background for some characters who could have been a bit hazy by only Mantel’s telling.
And while it’s short, it’s not light on content. It was definitely not a quick read as it encourages some back and forth with Mantel’s books and others to get the full story on any given person or event. The “Further Reading” section has several Cromwell biographies as well as general Tudor histories listed. There’s also a comprehensive index – impressive for such a short book.
All in all this was a very enjoyable and informative read, but definitely not a quickie.
4/5