An Occult History of Britain (Part 1)

Wolf Crawl Week 3: Monday 15 January – Sunday 21 January

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“Beneath every history, another history.”

“I think Hilary Mantel taught me what it means to be English. The myths of Englishness, by which we all still live, were explained to me in these books, especially in the section of Wolf Hall called An Occult History of Britain.”

Ben Miles, narrator of the books and “Thomas Cromwell” in the stage adaptations of Mantel’s novels.

Welcome to week three of Wolf Crawl

I am delighted you are joining me this week for the first half of An Occult History of Britain. It is a complex section, with many new characters, plot threads, themes and ideas. I’m here to guide you through it, explain what is going on, and why it matters.

You will find everything you need for this read-along on the main Cromwell trilogy page of my website, including the reading schedule and plot summaries for each character. There is also a page with links to online resources about Mantel’s writing and Thomas Cromwell.