Review: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

It amuses me no end that the previous owner of this book has scrawled 'BORING' at the top of the first page. Seriously. I wouldn't say it's strictly true but I can see where they're coming from. It's not the easiest book in the world to plough through.

Plot summary: England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

Historical fiction seems to run one of two ways.

Option A: Philippa Gregory
  
These books get a lot of stick but I quite like them. They focus more on bringing characters to life and sustaining your interest more than any sort of historical accuracy. There's a lot of dialogue and not much prose. They're entertaining and a quick read, and you really care about the characters, but you probably shouldn't put much stock in anything you've 'learned.'

Option B: Hilary Mantel

These books are long and dense. There's not much dialogue and background information tends to be explained in prose. These can be more of a chore to pick up than the other kind and often expect you to have some prior knowledge, but you come away feeling likeyou at least know more about the time period than you did previously.

Why is there no middle ground? Why do I have to choose between entertaining and informative!? Because, whilst Wolf Hall certainly felt educational, I'm pretty sure I would have been more inclined to continue turning the pages of a Philippa Gregory book.

It's just so... dense. See, I love the Tudors. I have a fairly impressive related non-fiction book section on my shelves and I'm That Person who always talks over television documentaries. I got the third highest score in the country for A2 history. But even I thought Wolf Hall was unnecessarily long.

It follows Thomas Cromwell, who rapidly rises from Cardinal Wolsey's Secretary to Chief Minister of Henry VIII, primarily by bringing about the King's divorce of Katherine of Aragon. It discusses Cromwell's ascent to power in great detail and is therefore centered around Tudor politics for a large portion of the book. Not the interesting politics either - Henry and Anne Boleyn rarely actually pop-up - it's consists more of the behind-the-scenes squabbling with other politicians. There's a lot of prose and a lot of dialogue and I really struggled to be interested in some of it.

It assumes a fair amount of prior knowledge which I just didn't have, egocentric above paragraph notwithstanding. I struggled to keep all the politicians and ministers straight, especially as they have two or three different titles used interchangeably. I couldn't always figure out who worked for who, and which party supported each side, etc etc. I shudder to think how long this book would have been if she's actually explained herself properly.

The bits that I did like, I liked a lot. Henry's squabbles with Anne Boleyn, for example. But even then, I'm tempted to consider whether it's just the history that I like. I have always, and will always, take great pleasure in the fact that Anne was eventually executed. Justice be served and all that. Funny how I started to take an interest in this novel when Henry started flirting with Jane Seymour.

I'm not sure it's actually all that well written either. It follows Thomas Cromwell, as we've established, but I don't think the narrative refers to him once by name. It just says 'he did this, and he did that...' When three or four people are involved in a scene, it mays it very difficult to figure out exactly who's talking and several times I had to skip back a few paragraphs just to figure out what's going on.   

I think it would be fair to say that I liked this more than it appears from the above (one day I'm going to embroider that on a bloody pillow). There were parts of it that I did enjoy, I just struggled to pick it up once I'd put it down again and some it I outright skimmed. I'll probably buy the next book, Bring Up The Bodies, if I see it in a charity shop, but I admit that's partly because Anne Boleyn hasn't died yet...

Read Bex's thoughts about Wolf Hall at An Armchair by the Sea. 

Review:The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

First off, a huge thank you to Orion Books for sending me The Crown in exchange for an honest review. Not only that, but they're very generously giving away copies to three lucky readers at Booking in Heels! UK only, I'm afraid but click here to enter. It's a beautiful, very intelligent book that would be a great addition to anybody's historical fiction collection.

London, May 1537: When Joanna Stafford, a young novice, learns her cousin is about to be burned at the stake for rebelling against Henry VIII, she makes a decision that will change not only her life but quite possibly, the fate of a nation. Joanna breaks the sacred rule of enclosure and runs away from Dartford Priory, but when Joanna and her father are arrested and sent to the Tower of London, she finds herself a pawn in a deadly power struggle. Those closest to the throne are locked in a fierce fight against those desperate to save England's monasteries from destruction. Charged with a mission to find a hidden relic believed to possess a mystical power that has slain three Englishmen of royal blood in the last 300 years, Joanna and a troubled young friar, Brother Edmund, must seek answers across England. Once she learns the true secret of her quest, one that traces all the way back to Golgotha and the Relics of the Passion, Joanna must finally determine who to trust and how far she is willing to go to protect her life, her family and everything she holds dear.  

The press release that accompanied my copy described The Crown as a cross between Dan Brown and Philippa Gregory. I was slightly dubious at first because I've seen many, many books profess Brown-esque similarities but this actually is. The plot revolves around a search for a missing religious relic but set in Tudor England and written in a beautifully elegant historical style. It really is the best of both worlds.

I love Britain in the 1500s and I love biblical archaeology, so this was the perfect blend for me. Joanna Bulmer, a young novice at Dartford Priory, is blackmailed into locating an ancient artefact by Bishop Gardiner - if she does not, Henry VIII will succeed in closing every monastery and priory in England. I'm not really that familiar with the Bible, but I was still captivated by her struggle to protect her Sisters and her faith.

The prose is beautiful. It flows like a well-crafted story but still emanates intelligence and elegance. It's very formal, as befitting the story of a young Tudor nun. Nothing irritates me more than Tudor princesses using the slang of today, but The Crown steers as far away from that as it's possible to be. Nothing but authenticity here, thank you very much! Whilst it's definitely heavier on the description than the action, it never felt like a slog. Instead I was captivated by the attention to detail and atmosphere present throughout.

I liked Joanna as a character. She is clearly a pious and devoted young novice who believes strongly in her faith, but somehow manages never to come across as preachy and never irritated me, and trust me - I irritate easily. Instead, her struggles between obedience towards her prioress and the desire to do what is right is obvious and I sympathised. I liked the way her Spanish background was brought in to explain the sympathy she felt for Katherine of Aragon and her faith.

Ms Bilyeau has clearly done her research. The novel is filled with minor Tudor personages and historical references, as well as a clear understanding of the Dominican order. I like to think I'm reasonably well versed in the history of this period, and yet even I had to dash off to Wikipedia a good few times. I learned a lot, although it did make the plot occasionally a little hard to follow when I wasn't really sure who a character was meant to be.

When a burning is announced, the taverns of Smithfield order extra barrels of ale, but when the person to be executed is a woman and one of noble birth, the ale comes by the cartload.

I will admit that the ending bothered me a little. It just seemed to kind of fizzle out a little and I didn't really see the relevance of certain (very minor) subplots right at the finish. The romance (if it could be called that) seemed to spring from nowhere and the whole issue with Joanna's father was a little surprising. However I can't say those really detracted from my enjoyment of The Crown.

Long story short, this is the best piece of historical fiction I've read in a long time. I'd thought I was burned out from all the Tudor fiction I've read, but perhaps The Crown was just what I needed to bounce back!

Click here to enter the giveaway!

You may also be interested in Nancy Bilyeau's website, or click here to see The Crownon Amazon.

 

Review: Ill Met By Moonlight by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis

This is very possibly the most time I've spent on one book in years. It's High Fantasy, so has a fairly complicated 700-and-odd-page plot along with a multitude of different characters and multiple dimensions. Couple that with my birthday week, a Lupus flare-up and a Boyfriendly Visit and the result is a blog that is fairly sparse on the review front. Never mind, I'm back now with a groaning TBR shelf waiting to be read!

Sixteenth century England: a nation at a fatal fork in time, leading to two possible futures. Either an evil queen will join with the Inquisition and rule with a blood-spattered iron hand - or a benevolent queen named Elizabeth will rule wisely and well. But the evil Unseleighe Sidhe are determined that the little girl Elizabeth shall never grow up to take the throne. Opposing them are the good Sidhe of elfland, including Denoriel, who has already foiled one attempt against Elizabeth, almost at the cost of his own life. But a few years have passed, and Denoriel still guards the young princess, now eight years old, secure in the knowledge that Vidal, leader of the evil Unseleighe, is dead. Unfortunately, he is wrong. Vidal was wounded almost fatally, but now his recovery is complete and he has set in motion a plan to bring about a new dark age of which Denoriel is dangerously unaware...

So basically it's the story of Elizabeth I's childhood embroided with fairies and changelings. There are two sets of fairy twins - Denoriel and Aleneil are the 'good' set, trying to protect Elizabeth from the 'bad' set - Pasgen and Rhoslyn, who are trying to abduct her to prevent what they know the future will hold - a happy England and therefore less power for them. 

If you're not a fan of High Fantasy, this is not for you. Ms Lackey's books are usually quite light and easy to read, but this was co-written by Roberta Gellis. I've never read any of her books, but I'm guessing she has a slightly heavier style. It's a very complicated storyline, with a lot of magical theory, different lands and characters with similar names, all of which can be a bit difficult to keep straight in your head.

I'm not saying it's not good - far from it. It's just that if you go into it expecting a light fairytale... well, you're just not going to get it. I love Tudor history though, and magic, so this had 'Hanna' written all over it. The authors have clearly put an awful lot of research into this book though. It doesn't just mention the obvious - Anne Boleyn had her head chopped off, Henry VIII didn't like Anne of Cleves, etc - but the entire plot derives from the lesser known bits. Henry Fitzroy, King Henry's illegitimate son, is not very well widely known but still features prominently in the book.

This is the second in the series (which I wasn't aware when my Mother was waving it at me), but it doesn't really matter. Mercedes Lackey is usually fairly good at explaining what's gone on in previous books, and Ill Met By Moonlight is no exception. I'm sure it would be easier if you had read the first one (This Scepter'd Isle) but it's no great loss. 

The one problem I had with it was the portrayal of certain characters. Obviously nobody can actually know exactly how Elizabeth and Mary behaved and felt - they're long dead and royalty tend to wear invisible masks at the best of times. But there's a certain acceptance (in historical fiction at least) that Elizabeth, even as a child, was precocious and calculating, while Mary was loving and affectionate until she hit middle-age with no sign of a child. I've never read a more unlikeable Elizabeth than in this book though. She's hostile, smug and whiny all at the same time and at times I think she'd have deserved it if she had been captured by fairies.

'Elizabeth was smiling brilliantly. "I know one is not supposed to boast of one's own deeds or cleverness, but... by the Grace of God, I was both brave and clever!"'

Oh shut up. Denoriel is obsessed with her, but it never quite explains why. She's horrible to him. Actually, their relationship is a little creepy. He acts like he's in love with her, when he's an ancient fairy thing and she's nine years old! Mary is whiny, sullen and continuously complains that her life isn't fair. Thankfully, she doesn't feature that often, but that's a direct contradiction of what we all think we know about Mary.

I suppose that historical fiction is just a more serious form of fanfiction - just using real people as your characters. You didn't invent them, but you have to stick to somebody else's idea of them, so I suppose it's quite hard to make it seem real. This wasn't a huge problem with the book - it's baearable and didn't ruin the story, but it does stick in my head.

It's a good story and it's possible to get really engrossed in it - but be prepeared to invest a lot of time in it! I'm going to read a few lighter books first, but then I'm definitely going to read the first one.