So now, read Wolf Hall with us!

An invitation to the 2025 slow read of Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy

'So now get up.'
   Felled, dazed, silent, he has fallen; knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. His head turned sideways; his eyes are turned towards the gate, as if someone might arrive to help him out. One blow, properly placed, could kill him now.

An invitation

In 2025, I invite you to join readers from all around the world in a year-long reading of Hilary Mantel’s masterpiece, the life of Thomas Cromwell in three books: Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, and The Mirror and the Light.

The read-along is called Wolf Crawl. It ran for the first time this year and has been an extraordinary success: a rich and deeply rewarding experience. This post includes quotes from the 2024 Wolf Crawlers, my reading companions on this adventure, and a FAQ with everything you need to decide whether this slow read is for you.

We read around 40 pages a week. Each Wednesday, I share a weekly post packed with reflections, resources, contemporary paintings and music, useful videos and links to further reading. In the comments, you can connect with fellow readers, share your experience and discuss the week’s reading.

“This year-long read has been the best reading experience I can ever recall. Simon's weekly essays are always the dessert to the meal of the week's section. The combination of the brilliance of the trilogy, Simon's terrific and substantive essays, and the chance to comment back and forth with Simon and other readers makes this an experience I can not recommend more highly. It is truly a bargain.” – david roberts

Why read Wolf Hall?

These are astonishing books. Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies both won the The Booker Prizes. Wolf Hall topped The Guardian’s list of the best 100 books of the 21st Century, so far. In a similar list in The New York Times, Wolf Hall came third.

Hilary Mantel died in 2022. ‘It was always a pleasure’, writes Margaret Atwood¹, ‘to read such a smart, deft, meticulous, thoughtful writer, and one with such a grasp of the dark and spidery corners of human nature.’

‘There was something boundless about Hilary Mantel’s imaginative process,’ Colm Tóibín recalls, ‘She saw historical forces operating with immense clarity, but she also could create with real skill and flair the intimate moment, the tiny scene, the sudden shift of light or of power in a relationship.’

‘Mantel bristled with intelligence, looked at everything, saw everything,’ writes Anne Enright. ‘Mantel was that rare writer,’ says Kamila Shamsie, ‘whom you read and think, I have no idea how your brain goes where it goes, and how it comes back to produce the work that it does.’

‘Fierce, fabulous and fearless,’ wrote Maggie O’Farrell.

Sarah Perry: ‘What will we do without her?’

I want to remember Hilary Mantel by creating this resource and reading community: a slow and careful study of her books.

Wolf Hall is a novel for anyone interested in what language can do. It is historical fiction, but so much more. It is a study of character and conscience, of memory, myth-making and the birth of the modern world.

“I've read the Wolf Hall trilogy a handful of times on my own and enjoyed it immensely each time. When I started the slow read with Simon, I expected it to simply be a pleasant way to read the books again. I'm delighted that I was both right and wrong. Yes, it's a VERY pleasant way to enjoy the books — but it's so much more. Simon supports each part of the reading with historical context, imagery, and helpful insight that deepens the experience of the books (all with just the right touch of levity and humor). The community Simon's created is friendly, intelligent, supportive, and engaged. This whole shebang is a mashup of top-notch lecture series and can't-miss-it bookclub. – Melissa Joulwan

Thomas Cromwell, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533. Source.

Who was Thomas Cromwell?

Born in around 1485, Cromwell was the son of a brewer-blacksmith from Putney, on the outskirts of London. In a spectacular rags-to-riches story, he rose in the service of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to become Henry VIII’s chief minister in the 1530s. On 28 July 1540, he was beheaded for treason.

An architect of the English Reformation, Thomas Cromwell is primarily known for his role in securing the king’s divorce from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and the beheadings of Thomas More and Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn.

More was the humanist scholar who gave us the word utopia. He is a Catholic saint and martyr; his life immortalised in the play and film, A Man for All Seasons. Anne Boleyn was the mother of Elizabeth I. Cromwell made her queen and then engineered her downfall on dubious charges of adultery, incest and treason.

Three books, three beheadings. Please read carefully.

Do I need to know the history to read Wolf Hall?

No. Background knowledge is helpful but not necessary. This is a story about people and place, characters and conflict; you will learn the history as you become immersed in the story. And I will here with all the additional explanatory notes and resources you may want, to fill the gaps in your knowledge of the period.

“At the start, I felt a bit daunted by the size and scope of the books, and my very scanty knowledge of Tudor history. However, Simon's weekly emails have really opened these books to me. His commentary is thorough, interesting and accessible. … Simon opens these wonderful books up expertly and his enthusiasm for the subject shines through.” – Tony

Is Wolf Hall hard to read?

Hilary Mantel’s trilogy is known for its distinctive voice and style. The books are written in the third person from Thomas Cromwell’s point of view. We watch events unfold in the present tense from a place somewhere behind his mind’s eye.

In that space, our pronouns become a little confused: Thomas Cromwell is sometimes ‘I’, ‘We’, ‘You’, but most often ‘He’. In a book swarming with characters, we can sometimes be a little unsure of who ‘he’ refers to. On such occasions, Mantel steps in with the clarifying, and now iconic, ‘He, Cromwell.’

This peculiar narrative device is part of the genius of these books. It can take a few chapters to get used to. But once your ear has adapted to Mantel’s style, you will be flying fast and high, entirely under her spell.

“I dived right into the turbulent life of Cromwell ... It became part of my life for most of this year, helping me on one occasion to go through a difficult MRi scan where I was able to tamper down my anxiety by trying to remember the whole cast of characters and their titles.” –Iwaska

How do I keep track of all the characters?

Wolf Hall has a lot of characters, and at least 14 men all called Thomas. There are over 100 named individuals in the trilogy, many with a variety of nicknames and changing titles.

Each week, I list the people mentioned in the chapter and link to plot summaries for each character to refresh your memory. Almost all the characters were real historical people, and in my posts, there will be paintings for you to put faces to all those names.

At some point in the trilogy, Uncle Norfolk will feel like the family you wish you never had. Rafe Sadler will be the friend you hope will never let you go. But until then, my posts are here to help!

“There are so many people involved in the story that I keep getting confused, but having bookmarked your summaries of each person on my phone, it is so easy to quickly check who someone is, which is something that I do more than I care to admit.” – Lena Ziroli

What is a read-along?

You can call Wolf Crawl a book club, book group, read-along or slow read. I don’t mind. The basics are the same:

I have divided the trilogy into 52 weekly readings. Each Wednesday, I send out a newsletter for that week’s reading. This post also appears on my website and contains lots of resources and space in the comments for discussion.

The rest is up to you! This is your read-along. In 2024, some readers wrote their own posts to accompany the reading. We can organise meetups, online or offline. We can watch the BBC dramatisation or visit the Tower of London. Some readers get creative, and draw, paint or even knit their journey through the books.

And if you have specific expertise or insight into the books or the period, I would love to get you involved with interviews or guest posts. Please get in touch.

“I've gained a weirdly satisfying sense of companionship in knowing that others are reading the same words, at a similar pace, to me.” – Yasmin Chopin

When does Wolf Crawl start?

Wednesday 1 January 2025: We start Wolf Hall
Wednesday 30 April 2025: We start Bring Up the Bodies
Wednesday 23 July 2025: We start The Mirror and the Light

“I have no hesitation in recommending Simon's slow read experience. Firstly the books themselves are worthy of a slow read but what Simon's group adds is a sense of communal reading which gives added depth and interest by providing insights from other readers as we read. He has created a community of readers.” – Jenny Sanders

How much reading is there each week?

We have 2,007 pages ahead of us.

On average, that is 38 pages a week. This varies between around 20 and 50 pages. Mantel writes long chapters, so I’ve had to make some editorial decisions about how to divide up those longer chapters.

“I had attempted to read Wolf Hall myself in the past, with little success because I didn't fully understand what I was reading, this is where the slow read really helped me.” – Selina Allinson

Can I read at my own pace?

Of course! This isn’t school, and there are no rules.

If you want to race ahead or saunter behind, if life gets in the way, or your curiosity gets the better of you, do what works for you. My posts and our discussion will always be here when you want them.

All I want is for you to enjoy reading these fabulous books.

“To be honest, I couldn’t follow along the schedule and I finished The Mirror and Light two weeks ago (guilty face) because I was unable to put it away. I read the final paragraph 8 times at least, and it was difficult to let go. It was one of the best farewell paragraphs I ever read and my heart trembled each time I went through it.” – Iwaska

Can I listen instead of read?

Yes! This slow read is fully accessible to readers with visual impairments or those who prefer to listen instead of reading. I recommend the definitive audiobooks narrated by Ben Miles. All my posts have voice-overs and will also be available as a podcast to download and listen to on your preferred app.

“It has been the highlight of my reading year.” – Amanda Copperwaite

How do I join Wolf Crawl?

1. Subscribe to Footnotes and Tangents.

2. Turn on notifications in your settings for 2025 Wolf Crawl to receive weekly emails.

This video shows you how to join Wolf Crawl:

“You will not regret joining Simon's slow reads in which he will expertly guide you through each book's themes, characters, historical context, arcana, and tiny details you missed. Reading along with a community of curious readers has been a great joy.' Thanks for all your hard work, Simon!” – Tash

How much does Wolf Crawl cost?

Wolf Crawl is for paid subscribers to Footnotes and Tangents. A subscription costs £3.50/month or £35/year. This includes:

• 52 detailed posts with audio voiceovers, discussion and resources, paintings, videos and further links.

• Extensive plot summaries for over 100 characters.

• A friendly and inclusive discussion space.

• A podcast version of my posts to download and listen to on your favourite app.

• A bonus series on the trilogy’s ghosts and phantasmal themes, called The Haunting of Wolf Hall.

A paid subscription also includes:

• A monthly chat thread to connect with readers across the book groups and share current reads and book recommendations.

• The 2025 War and Peace read-along, reading Leo Tolstoy’s classic, a chapter-a-day.

• Access to all my book guides.

On 1 January 2025, new subscriptions will rise to £5/month or £50/year. This will not affect existing subscriptions, so upgrade before New Year’s Day for the best deal.

“By forcing me to slow down and consider each week's section in detail, the Wolf Crawl readalong has changed my relationship to reading. I've always been a devourer of books, even a bit of a skimmer - I often struggle to recall specific details even of books I've really enjoyed. Now I find myself grabbing a pen to highlight recurring themes and phrases, remembering detailed quotes and passages from earlier in the year, and taking time to mull over the meaning and implications of images and phrases. The whole experience is hugely rewarding!” – Nikki

Is there support for readers on a low income?

Yes! I have aimed to make this slow read as affordable as possible while providing an income to allow me to keep writing. However, I do not want your financial situation to be a barrier to benefiting from this experience.

So if you are an engaged reader with a low or no income, please get in touch so I can support your reading with a complimentary subscription.

What other books are running next year?

Here is the full lineup for 2025:

Jan–Mar: The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell
May–Sep: A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
Oct–Nov: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Nov–Dec: The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald
All Year: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (for paid subscribers)
All Year: Hilary Mantell’s Cromwell trilogy (for paid subscribers)

I will introduce the War and Peace read-along next month.

Any further questions?

If you have any queries about the slow read, leave me a comment below, send me an email or a message on Substack.

Substack Book Group Directory

I maintain a list of around 40 book groups and book clubs with newsletters hosted on Substack. Explore the list here:

Bonus: She, Mantel

To finish and by way of farewell, here is a video of a short piece I wrote a while back as a tribute to this trilogy. It’s called “She, Mantel”. Enjoy and I hope to see many of you on the slow read next year!

1. All author quotes come from “Hilary Mantel remembered: ‘She was the queen of literature’”, The Guardian, Fri 23 Sep 2022.