Three Card Trick (Wolf Hall)

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"Three Card Trick"
Wolf Hall episode
Episode no.Series 1
Episode 1
Written by Peter Straughan
Story by Hilary Mantel
Original air date21 January 2015 (2015-01-21)
Running time60 minutes
Episode chronology
 Previous
Next 
"Entirely Beloved"

"Three Card Trick" is the first episode of the BBC Two series Wolf Hall . It was first broadcast on 21 January 2015. [1]

Contents

Plot

In 1529, King Henry VIII dismisses Lord Chancellor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey for his failure to convince Pope Clement VII to annul Henry's marriage to his wife, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Wolsey's lawyer, Thomas Cromwell, reminisces over his time with the Cardinal, his dealings with the Boleyn family and his own personal life, including the death of his wife and two daughters from the sweating sickness in 1528.

Cast

Critical reception

The premiere of Wolf Hall received positive reviews. The Daily Telegraph gave the episode 5/5, saying "it fully communicates the nerve-jangling sense of bodily threat with which Mantel’s novels are freighted — life is cheap in a disease-ridden Tudor England ruled by an absolute monarch." [2]

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<i>Henry VIII</i> (TV serial) 2003 British TV series or programme

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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.

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References

  1. "Wolf Hall TV Review". Radio Times . 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. "Wolf Hall, first look review: 'masterful'". The Daily Telegraph . 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.