Peter Galen Massey

In Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel continues her speculation on the life of Thomas Cromwell – Master Secretary and consigliere to King Henry VIII of England – as he works to remove Anne Boleyn from the throne of England because Anne has failed to produce a male heir for the king and, more essentially, because Henry has grown tired of her.

Mantel delivers a brilliant synthesis of the genre and literary novels, offering action, intrigue, sex, and blood as well as masterful writing, sharp-edged dialogue, finely drawn characters, and acute psychological insights. More impressively, she takes absolute possession of Cromwell’s mind and then offers readers a prime seat in it.  Bring Up the Bodies is the sequel to Mantel’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel, Wolf Hall.