Saturday 10 November 2012

Bring Up The Bodies

Author: Hilary Mantel


Published: 2012

What They Say: Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2012

With this historic win for BRING UP THE BODIES, Hilary Mantel becomes the first British author and the first woman to be awarded two Man Booker Prizes, as well as being the first to win with two consecutive novels. Continuing what began in the Man Booker Prize-winning WOLF HALL, we return to the court of Henry VIII, to witness the irresistible rise of Thomas Cromwell as he contrives the destruction of Anne Boleyn.

By 1535 Cromwell is Chief Minister to Henry, his fortunes having risen with those of Anne Boleyn. But the split from the Catholic Church has left England dangerously isolated, and Anne has failed to give the king an heir. Cromwell watches as Henry falls for plain Jane Seymour. Negotiating the politics of the court, Cromwell must find a solution that will satisfy Henry, safeguard the nation and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge unscathed from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.

An astounding literary accomplishment, BRING UP THE BODIES is the story of this most terrifying moment of history, by one of our greatest living novelists.

What Elaine Says:  It gives me great pleasure to tell you that this book more than lives up to the hype.

Wolf Hall, was a phenomonal literary achievement and this, the sequal, not only manages to maintain that level but surpass it.  It's a gifted writer that take a story so familiar to an audience and make it fresh.  Mantel not only gives us a new insight into the court of Henry VIII but somehow manages to surprise us.

I'm not generally a fan of historical fiction but this series of novels (there will be 1, if not 2 more) feel fresh and more importantly relevant. 

Everybody deserves a chance to experience this book for the first time.  Make sure you do.

Elaine's Rating: 10/10

Quotes:
"You can be merry with the king, you can share a joke with him.  But as Thomas More used to say, it's like sporting with a tamed lion.  You tousle its mane and pull it's ears, but all the time you're thinking, those claws, those claws, those claws."

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