They shout, 'You killed your mother when you were born. She couldn't stand to look at you, out you slid and she cut her throat.' His sister Kat says, 'Don't listen to them. That's not what occurred.' He calls back, 'You devil's turd, eel boy, are you tired of life?' Eel boy calls, 'I'll dint you, craphead.' 'When?' he says. 'Saturday night?' 'I'll skin and salt you, and fry you in a pan.' So then he has to do it.
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further resources: Hilary Mantel | Wolf Hall
Welcome to Week 47 of 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 & the Light.
Each week, I delve into the details, providing 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, Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Blue Flower, and Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.
I start each post with a summary of the week’s story, illustrated by a map by Matt Brown. This week, we are reading the second half of Part Five. Chapter I. Ascension Day, Spring–Summer 1539.
In the UK Fourth Estate edition, this section runs from pages 651 to 682. In the US Picador edition, it runs from pages 560 to 586. It begins, “One morning after Easter he wakes with a heavy, aching head, his neck stiff.” It ends, “‘Mid-August,’ he writes. ‘Five days. Wolf Hall.’”
This summary is followed by a few footnotes of interest. This week, Cromwell falls ill, and his memories break down the door. He, Thomas Craphead, relives his original sin. Meanwhile, a plaice takes his perilous seat at Council and undoes his hard-won gains.
Sadly, Bea Stitches is unwell this week so won’t make be able to join us in the archives. Wishing her all the best and a speedy recovery!
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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