He, Cromwell, is no longer subject to vagaries of temperament, and he is almost never tired. Obstacles will be removed, tempers will be soothed, knots unknotted. Here at the close of the year 1533, his spirit is sturdy, his will strong, his front imperturbable. The courtiers see that he can shape events, mould them. He can contain the fears of other men, and give them a sense of solidity in a quaking world: this people, this dynasty, this miserable rainy island at the edge of the world.
Last Week | Home Page | Reading Schedule | Next Week
Welcome to Wolf Crawl. I am your guide, Simon Haisell, and this is a year-long slow read of Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy: Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, and The Mirror and the Light.
Each week, I dive into the details, with summaries, background, footnotes and tangents to enrich your reading. I am joined on this journey by Bea Stitches, who delves into the archive on our behalf, and Matt Brown, who makes maps to help us find our way through Cromwell’s world.
You can find the reading schedule and plot summaries for the full cast of characters on my website, Footnotes and Tangents. There, you can join other slow reads, including Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Pat Barker’s Regeneration, and The Inheritors by William Golding.
I start each post with a summary of the week’s story illustrated by a map created by Matt Brown. This week we are reading Part Five. Chapter II. Devil’s Spit and Chapter III. A Painter’s Eye.
UK Fourth Estate edition, pp. 484–527
US Picador, pp. 449–489
US Henry Holt, pp. 396-432 (guide only, editions vary)
Ben Miles audiobook, 18:36:45–20:21:20
First Line: It is magnificent.
Last Line: Gregory says, ‘Did you not know?’
This summary is followed by a few footnotes of interest.
This week, we survey our defensive fortifications, squash a few letters into our proclamations and let Richard Riche and Lady Rochford into the secret book of our heart. We do battle in the bedchamber, remember the last wolf of England, and stand before our portrait, warts and all. In the archives, Bea takes us through the case we are building against the Maid of Kent, and in the haunting of Wolf Hall, we see double as hell gapes and Lucifer stinks. We finish with my favourite quote of the week.
And then it is over to you. In the comments, let us know what caught your eye and ask the group any questions you may have. And if you’ve tumbled down a rabbit hole or taken your reading off on a tangent, please share where you have been and what you have found.
Turn on notifications for “2026 Wolf Crawl” in your subscription settings to get weekly reminders linking to these posts in your inbox or the Substack App.
