- Publisher
- Harper Perennial
- First published
- 2009
- Length
- ≈ 653 pages
- Reading time
- 17–22 hours
- ISBN
- 1554687780
Reading time assumes 30–40 pages per hour; edition and reading pace affect this estimate. Edition source
What is this book about?
Wolf Hall is a fictionalised and sympathetic account of Thomas Cromwell’s rapid rise to power at the court of Henry VIII. Set between 1500 and 1535, it begins with the teenage Cromwell running away from an abusive father. By 1527 he is back in England as a lawyer and the trusted right-hand man of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
When Wolsey falls from favour for failing to secure the annulment of the king’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Cromwell must find his own footing with Henry and with Anne Boleyn. The novel is the first in a trilogy, followed by Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light.
Source: Wolf Hall
Award recognition
Fiction| Year | Book / recipient | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Hilary Mantel | Women's Prize for Fiction | shortlistedSource |
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