Awards
Costa Novel Award
2009 Shortlist
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Set in England in the 1520s, Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, Wolf Hall peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.
Hilary Mantel is the author of eleven books, including A Place of Greater Safety, Giving Up the Ghost and, most recently Beyond Black, which was shortlisted for the 2006 Orange Prize.
Judges: "One of the outstanding books of the year - historical fiction at its best."
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