But remember this above all: defeat your instinct. Your love of glory must conquer your will to survive; or why fight at all? Why not be a smith, a brewer, a wool merchant? Why are you in the contest, if not to win, and if not to win, then to die?
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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, The Inheritors by William Golding and Treacle Walker by Alan Garner.
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 third of Part Two. Chapter I. The Black Book. London, January–April 1536.
UK Fourth Estate edition, pp. 184–223
US Picador, pp. 157–187
US Henry Holt, pp. 157-188 (guide only, editions vary)
Ben Miles audiobook, 6:11:34–7:26:56
First Line: When he hears the shout of ‘Fire!’
Last Line: … her heart is like a stone.
This summary is followed by a few footnotes of interest.
This week, Cromwell considers how to win and lose a contest, and we remember rebel sons and fallen heroes. We look at what Cromwell saw in Venice and wonder whether Henry had been changed for good by his fall in the tournament. Bea is reading Chapuys’ letters in the archives, and a note about a possible replacement fool for the king. There are no hauntings this week, but we end with some twisted tales.
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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