The Mirror and the Light

A Complete Guide to Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror & the Light

This guide was first published in 2024 as part of the 2024 Wolf Crawl slow read of Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell Trilogy. It will be updated with the latest posts during the 2025 slow read. Read more about that book group here.

#1 Wreckage (I)

Bonus: Meet me, Cremuel. Let us dine. by

#2 Salvage (Part 1/3)

Bonus: A Cannibal Glint in his Eyes by

#3 Salvage (Part 2/3)

Bonus: Eat up the strawberries! by

#4 Salvage (Part 3/3)

Bonus: Who will cook my supper, Tom? by

#5 Wreckage (II) (Part 1/2)

#6 Wreckage (II) (Part 2/2)

Bonus: Bread or Blood by

#7 Augmentation

#8 The Five Wounds

#9 Vile Blood (1/2)

#10 Vile Blood (2/2)

Bonus: His Meal lies heavy by

#11 The Bleach Fields

Bonus: 'It tastes better than it looks' by

#12 The Image of the King (Part 1/2)

Bonus: 'Naught but yellow and white' by

#13 The Image of the King (Part 2/2) & Broken on the Body

#14 Nonsuch

Bonus: Hang on through the Season of Marzipan by

#15 Corpus Christi (Part 1/2)

#16 Corpus Christi (Part 2/2) & Inheritance

#17 Ascension Day (Part 1/2)

#18 Ascension Day (Part 2/2)

Bonus: Send Thurston up! by

#19 Twelfth Night

Bonus: A Pudding for a penny by

#20 Magnificence (Part 1/2)

#21 Magnificence (Part 2/2)

Bonus: The Dishes leap by

#22 Mirror (Part 1/2)

#23 Mirror (Part 2/2) & Light

Bonus post: Magic and religion by


Bonus post: Vile blood by
Bonus post: The flow of information by
Bonus post: Alternative futures by