Be loyal, be diligent, be intelligent on his behalf; you will come into a reward. Those who commit their service to him will be promoted and protected. He is a good friend and master; this is said of him everywhere. Otherwise, it is the usual abuse. His father was a blacksmith, a crooked brewer, he was an Irishman, he was a criminal, he was a Jew, and he himself was just a wooltrader, he was a shearsman, and now he is a sorcerer: how else but by being a sorcerer would he get the reins of power in his hand?
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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 the first half of Part Six. Chapter II. The Map of Christendom, 1533–1534.
UK Fourth Estate edition, pp. 580–620
US Picador, pp. 538–575
US Henry Holt, pp. 475-506 (guide only, editions vary)
Ben Miles audiobook, 22:18:02–23:54:05
First Line: ‘Do you want Audley’s post?’
Last Line: …take your sword in your hand.
This summary is followed by a few footnotes of interest.
This week, we are in mourning for life’s love, as the master of the memory machine becomes Master of the Rolls and enters the labyrinth and dungeons that lead to the king’s killing vein. Then, Bea takes us into the archives, and Walter is back, in the haunting of Wolf Hall. We end 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.
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