My thoughts on Wolf Hall

I love your blog Malyn and I am going to add my thoughts!
I LOVED it! I agree that the writing style is quite hard to get used to - whilst descriptive it is largely dialogue - like a fast paced movie with a great script, Thomas is referred to as "he" alot and you often had to re-read to see who "he" was, and so many characters with stories to follow. I too loved the character of Cromwell. Whilst Hilary depicts him with great humanity he was also a master manipulator who feathered his own nest and the people he liked, a life long mission to leave his poor childhood behind and the orchestrator of Anne Bolyn's beheading. Despite this, I found myself admiring him with many character traits I hope my boy might grow up to have (minus the murdering!) As history played out, Anne Bolyn's beheading was only the start as he too fell foul of the king and was beheaded for organising the marriage with Anne of Cleves (Henry's fourth wife). She bore him no children and was said to have bewitched him. Cromwell was convicted of treason and beheaded on the day Henry quietly married Katherine Howard (his fifth wife - yes - she too was beheaded!)
I love the fact that the book stopped at that time in history, just before Jane Seymour, the break of the church and the monumental power given to the king. In part, I wish I had also stopped there but on my mother's insistance went on to read Phillippa Gregory's The Constant Princess (story of Katherine of Aragon - wife 1), The Other Bolyn (story of mistress 1 Mary Bolyn and wife 2 Anne Bolyn), and The Bolyn Inheritance (story of Wife 4 and 5 - Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, wife 3 Jane Seymour hardly gets a mention poor soul). I am "Tudored" out!!! Wolf Hall is an interesting name as Jane Seymour only really comes into it at the end but her presence really sparks the start of Henry the madman! Because of her, he got rid of Anne Bolyn by beheading her and of course, she was the only one to give him a legitimate son, Edward, died 12 days after his birth, the only wife to get a state funeral and Henry VIII is buried with her!
I hear there is a sequel to Wolf Hall coming - who is game?