Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel

It’s two years and seven months since I read Mantel’s first installment of her Thomas Cromwell saga, and unlike my more diligent mother, I did not re-read ‘Wolf Hall’ in preparation for the second.  And thankfully a re-read wasn’t necessary as ‘Bring Up the Bodies’ managed to be its own entity with timely reminders of pertinent facts from the past occurring without being intrusive. 

If you care to look back at my blog post regarding ‘Wolf Hall’ you can remind yourself of my fairly skeptical view of historical fiction, but how Mantel’s novel did leave me wanting to know what happened next. In the same way that the first book chronicled the demise and rise of Henry VIII’s first and second wives respectively, the second does the same for the changeover from second to third.  The wheeling and dealing of Cromwell comes into play again and the intrigue involved to carry out the King’s wishes is breath taking and rather disturbing!  The way in which the women are involved in sexual politics and pushed like chess pieces at the whim of the rich, powerful and well-connected, is expertly depicted once more by Mantel. 

I found this novel particularly poignant because I was reading it around the time of the birth of the Prince of Cambridge, the third in line to the throne of the United Kingdom.  The modern contrasted rather dramatically in so many ways to similar events in the Tudor court, especially the difference in infant mortality rates now so that there appeared no real question of whether the baby would survive.   Moreover, the sex of the baby didn’t matter (although I suppose the legislation regarding equal succession has only just been agreed!), unless you had a bet placed either way, whereas the matter of a male heir was crucial and a component of King Henry’s desire for a new wife.

Returning to Mantel’s version of events, I can’t quite summon up the same hyperbole that adorns the cover and several pages within, however, I would say that her second novel on this subject is more engaging that the first.  It has more pace and purpose, making it easier to read, although in compromising its style for readability, it lost much of its immediacy.  I guess it’s difficult to do it all and please everyone, although from the number of awards and the amount of praise heaped on Mantel, she has done a considerable job in succeeding in the eyes of many.  We await the third installment and wonder whether it too will achieve the accolade of Booker winner…