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The Mirror & the Light
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The Mirror and The Light
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After a long wait of 8 years Hilary Mantel has produced the final book about the life of Thomas Cromwell in the court of HenryV111: The Mirror & the Light. It was certainly worth the wait! The last in the series, it was utterly absorbing; from the opening chapter in which Cromwell observes the beheading of Anne Boleyn, described in chilling detail : -"Once the queens head is severed, he walks away. A sharp pang of appetite reminds him that it is time for a second breakfast, or perhaps an early dinner"- Still in favour, Cromwell's work is done, his monarch is happy. We join him step by step on this dangerous journey charting the last 4 yrs of his life.
The kings most trusted advisor for many years, you are suddenly aware that things are beginning to unravel for Cromwell. All the while he is scheming, manipulting, plotting and trying to hold everything together in the face of so called friends and enemies alike plotting for his downfall. You feel the kings favour slowly slipping away after his disasterous marriage to Anne of Cleeves and Cromwell's enemies circling for the kill
The writing is phenomenal and brings to life in vivid detail the politics of this turbulant time, you feel you are there every step of the way with Cromwell not just peering in but actually with him sharing his thoughts and emotions
There was no surpise about the ending, just sadness that I'd finished this great book and what could I replace it with?
We rejoin the series at the scene where Bring Up the Bodies ends, watching the scaffold where the execution of Queen Ann Boleyn takes place. With the help of Cromwell, Henry has already moved on to wife number three, Jane Seymour.
His list of work grows ever more demanding: How to deal with the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth, dissolving the monasteries, the uprising in the North..
The king has rewarded him for his work, heaping ever greater titles on him, including an Earldom. It seems he is destined to live out a life of riches and power, especially when Jane gives birth to a male heir. But then Jane dies and Cromwell must find the king a new wife...
Meanwhile jealous enemies are gathering and we witness the fall of a once great man. He is about to be betrayed by the one man who can save him...
Capturing Tudor life, not just those in high circles, but of ordinary people, subject to the whims of a great but cruel king. The Mirror and the Light is a masterpiece of historical fiction.