I read on the New York Times web site that Hilary Mantel has won the 2009 Man Booker prize for her novel "Wolf Hall". I know that it's a good read; I was wondering if anyone knows how accurate it is. Thanks!
3 comments:
Zoe
said...
I didn't agree with Hilary Mantel's portrayal of Cromwell. She's obviously in love with her character which is why she turns a blind eye to his unsavoury side and practically canonises him. As an example, she writes about him extending his garden but doesn't mention how he forced his poorer neighbours to yield their own gardens up in order to make space! On the plus side her take on Tudor London is vivid and convincing and it's a brilliant work of fiction.
Hillary Mantel is obviously an expert at negotialting the real historical facts and turning them in to a pro-Cromwell homage that flies in the face of a well documented events of the Tudor period.Comparing "Wolf Hall" to Robert Bolts "A Man For All Seasons", which was meticulously researched by Bolt and used actual transcripts from the Thomas More trial, "Wolf Hall" seems weak and one-sided. Not to mention the one dimensional depiction of both Henry and Anne Boleyn.
3 comments:
I didn't agree with Hilary Mantel's portrayal of Cromwell. She's obviously in love with her character which is why she turns a blind eye to his unsavoury side and practically canonises him.
As an example, she writes about him extending his garden but doesn't mention how he forced his poorer neighbours to yield their own gardens up in order to make space!
On the plus side her take on Tudor London is vivid and convincing and it's a brilliant work of fiction.
I got my review copy last week but I haven't had a chance to start reading it. I'll eventually write something up for the news blog though.
Hillary Mantel is obviously an expert at negotialting the real historical facts and turning them in to a pro-Cromwell homage that flies in the face of a well documented events of the Tudor period.Comparing "Wolf Hall" to Robert Bolts "A Man For All Seasons", which was meticulously researched by Bolt and used actual transcripts from the Thomas More trial, "Wolf Hall" seems weak and one-sided. Not to mention the one dimensional depiction of both Henry and Anne Boleyn.
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