Author | Hilary Mantel |
---|---|
Audio read by | Simon Vance |
Language | English |
Series | Thomas Cromwell #2 |
Genre | Historical Fiction |
Publisher | Fourth Estate (UK) Henry Holt and Co. (US) |
Publication date | 8 May 2012 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
Pages | 432 pp |
ISBN | 9780805090031 |
OCLC | 773667451 |
823.92 | |
LC Class | PR6063.A438 B75 2012 |
Preceded by | Wolf Hall |
Followed by | The Mirror & the Light |
Bring Up the Bodies is an historical novel by Hilary Mantel, sequel to the award-winning Wolf Hall (2009), and part of a trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful minister in the court of King Henry VIII. It won the 2012 Man Booker Prize and the 2012 Costa Book of the Year. The final novel in the trilogy is The Mirror & the Light (2020).
Bring Up the Bodies follows closely upon the events of Wolf Hall. The King and Cromwell—now Master Secretary to the King's Privy Council—are guests of the Seymour family at Wolf Hall. Cromwell himself is attracted to the Seymours' daughter Jane.
The King spends time with Jane Seymour and begins to fall in love; his marriage to the new queen, Anne Boleyn, is sometimes loving but often descends into angry quarrels. "I cannot live as I have lived," Henry finally tells Cromwell in private. He has tired of Anne, who brings him neither peace nor a son, and wants his marriage ended. Cromwell vows to make this happen.
Ever the dealmaker, Cromwell tries to negotiate a separation through Anne's father, Wiltshire, and her brother, Rochford. Wiltshire is willing to negotiate; Rochford is not, and tells Cromwell that if Anne's marriage to the King endures he will "make short work of you."
Cromwell talks to those close to Anne. The more he does, the more he hears she's been unfaithful to the King. The musician, Mark Smeaton, and Anne's sister-in-law, Lady Rochford, pass on rumours to this effect. Cromwell begins to build his case. With proof enough to have her tried for treason, the King is willing to see Anne destroyed to serve his ends. Mindful that many of those closest to Anne helped ruin his mentor, Cardinal Wolsey, Cromwell relishes the opportunity to bring them down. And though he is not sure all of the evidence is true, he has gone so far in the matter that he cannot turn back.
In the end, Anne and several of her circle, including her brother, are tried and put to death. The King moves to wed Jane Seymour and rewards Cromwell with a barony. Having engineered the King's new marriage, and with the new Queen's family as his firm allies, his position as Henry's chief adviser is now assured.
Bring Up the Bodies was published in May 2012 by HarperCollins in the United Kingdom and by Henry Holt and Co. in the United States to critical acclaim. [1] [2]
Bring Up the Bodies was generally well received upon release. [3] [4] On The Omnivore, a British aggregator of press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4 out of 5. [5] On Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on sixteen critic reviews: twelve "rave" and two "positive" and two "mixed". [6] Culture Critic assessed critical response as an aggregated score of 83%, [7] while The BookScore assessed it at an aggregated critic score of 9.1/10 based on an accumulation of British and American press reviews. [8] Prosenotes gave it a "A+" (95%) based on critic reviews with a consensus saying, "Reviewers were genuinely surprised Mantel could make this particular period of history fresh and engaging, with all the other media out there on it. The second book in her trilogy about Cromwell (Thomas, not Oliver), it will keep you hooked even though you already know the ending. It’s a Prosenotes Pick!" [9] [10] In Bookmarks July/August 2012 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.00 out of 5) with the summary stating, "Bring Up the Bodies‚ profound, fierce, disturbing‚ is that rare work of historical fiction that builds a gripping world from start to end". [11]
Janet Maslin reviewed the novel positively in The New York Times :
[The book's] ironic ending will be no cliffhanger for anyone even remotely familiar with Henry VIII's trail of carnage. But in Bring Up the Bodies it works as one. The wonder of Ms. Mantel's retelling is that she makes these events fresh and terrifying all over again." [2]
It was listed by The New York Times as #95 in its list of 100 Best Books of the 21st century. [12]
In January 2014, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) staged a two-part adaptation of both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies in its winter season, with a script by Mantel and Mike Poulton. [13] Premiering at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, it transferred to the Aldwych Theatre, London, later that year.
A six-part BBC television series Wolf Hall , the adaptation of the books Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, starring Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis and Jonathan Pryce, was broadcast in the UK in January 2015 [14] and the United States in April 2015.
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was accused by King Henry VIII of adultery after failing to produce the male heir he so desperately desired. Jane, however, died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of her only child, the future King Edward VI. She was the only wife of Henry to receive a queen's funeral; and he was later buried alongside her remains in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Thomas Cromwell, briefly Earl of Essex, was an English statesman and lawyer who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charges for the execution.
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford was an English noblewoman. Her husband, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, was the brother of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, and a cousin-in-law to King Henry VIII’s fifth wife Catherine Howard through Jane Boleyn’s marriage to George Boleyn: Catherine Howard’s cousin. Jane had been a member of the household of Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. It is possible that she played a role in the verdicts against, and subsequent executions of, her husband and Anne Boleyn. She was later a lady-in-waiting to Henry's third and fourth wives, and then to his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, with whom she was executed.
Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was a beneficiary of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and persecuted perceived opponents of the king and their policies. He played a role in the trials of Catholic martyrs Thomas More and John Fisher as well as that of Protestant martyr Anne Askew.
Mark Smeaton was a musician at the court of Henry VIII of England, in the household of Queen Anne Boleyn. Smeaton – together with the Queen's brother George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford; Henry Norris; Francis Weston and William Brereton – was executed for treason and adultery with Queen Anne.
Henry Norris was an English courtier who was Groom of the Stool in the privy chamber of King Henry VIII. While a close servant of the King, he also supported the faction in court led by Queen Anne Boleyn, and when Anne fell out of favour, he was among those accused of treason and adultery with her. He was found guilty and executed, together with the Queen's brother, George Boleyn, Sir Francis Weston, William Brereton and Mark Smeaton. Most historical authorities argue that the accusations were untrue and part of a plot to get rid of Anne.
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, Every Day Is Mother's Day, was released in 1985. She went on to write 12 novels, two collections of short stories, a personal memoir, and numerous articles and opinion pieces.
The Tudors is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among American, British, and Canadian producers, and was filmed mostly in Ireland. While named after the Tudor dynasty as a whole, it is based specifically upon the reign of King Henry VIII.
Wulfhall or Wolfhall is an early 17th-century manor house in Burbage parish, Wiltshire, England. It is north-east of Burbage village, and about 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Marlborough. A previous manor house on the same site, at that time in the parish of Great Bedwyn, was the seat of the Seymour family, a member of which, Jane Seymour, was queen to King Henry VIII.
Wolf Hall is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, Wolf Hall is a sympathetic fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More. The novel won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 2012, The Observer named it as one of "The 10 best historical novels".
Anne Boleyn is a play on the life of Anne Boleyn by the English author Howard Brenton, which premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2010. Anne Boleyn is portrayed as a significant force in the political and religious in-fighting at court and a furtherer of the cause of Protestantism in her enthusiasm for the Tyndale Bible.
The 2012 Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded on 16 October 2012. A longlist of twelve titles was announced on 25 July, and these were narrowed down to a shortlist of six titles, announced on 11 September. The jury was chaired by Sir Peter Stothard, editor of the Times Literary Supplement, accompanied by literary critics Dinah Birch and Bharat Tandon, historian and biographer Amanda Foreman, and Dan Stevens, actor of Downton Abbey fame with a background English Literature studies. The jury was faced with the controversy of the 2011 jury, whose approach had been seen as overly populist. Whether or not as a response to this, the 2012 jury strongly emphasised the value of literary quality and linguistic innovation as criteria for inclusion.
The Mirror & the Light is a 2020 historical novel by English writer Hilary Mantel and the final novel published in her lifetime, appearing two and a half years before her death. Following Wolf Hall (2009) and Bring Up the Bodies (2012), it is the final instalment in her trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, minister in the court of King Henry VIII. It covers the last four years of his life, from 1536 until his death by execution in 1540.
Wolf Hall is a British television serial first broadcast on BBC Two in January 2015. The six-part series is an adaptation of two of Hilary Mantel's novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, a fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More, followed by Cromwell's success in freeing the king of his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Wolf Hall was first broadcast in April 2015 in the United States on PBS and in Australia on BBC First. It was reported in 2022 that a second series, covering the final novel in the trilogy, was in pre-production, with Mark Rylance, director Peter Kosminsky, and writer Peter Straughan returning.
"Entirely Beloved" is the second episode of the BBC Two series Wolf Hall. It was first broadcast on 28 January 2015.
The Quickening Maze is a 2009 historical fiction novel by British poet and author Adam Foulds and published by Jonathan Cape. The book received the Encore Award (2009), European Union Prize for Literature (2011) and was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize (2009) and Walter Scott Prize (2010). The book is based on the historical backdrop of a mental asylum run by Matthew Allen at High Beach in late 1830s and 1840s which had English poet John Clare admitted therein. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, another notable poet of the era, moves to High Beach to get his brother Septimus treated. All the while, Alfred himself, has to overcome depression after the death of his close friend Arthur Hallam. The book narrates Clare's life, the asylum's effects on both poets and bases its storyline on the popular speculation of whether Clare and Tennyson had ever met.
Wolf Hall Parts One & Two is a two-part play based on Hilary Mantel's novels Wolf Hall (2009) and Bring Up the Bodies (2013), adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, Wolf Hall is a sympathetic fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More.
The Mirror and the Light is a play by Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles based on Mantel's 2020 book of the same name. It is the third part to Wolf Hall Parts One & Two which is a double-bill play based on Mantel's novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.
Thomas Cromwell was Chief Minister to King Henry VIII of England from 1534 to 1540. He played a prominent role in the important events of Henry's reign, including the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, the execution of Anne Boleyn, the marriage to Anne of Cleves, the Dissolution of the monasteries, and the English Reformation. These dramatic events have provided the inspiration for plays, novels and films from shortly after his death until modern times.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is an upcoming historical drama television series. It is a second adaptation by Peter Straughan of the Wolf Hall novels by Hilary Mantel and covers The Mirror & the Light, the final novel in the trilogy. It has Peter Kosminsky returning to direct, Mark Rylance returning in the lead role of Thomas Cromwell, and Peter Straughan returning to write from the 2015 series Wolf Hall.