When his tale is done he writes the superscription: To the king, my most gracious sovereign lord his royal Majesty. But he cannot think how to end it. It may be the last letter they will allow. So he writes I cry for mercy. He writes it again, in case Henry should be distracted: mercy. And once again, mercy, to get it into the royal skull, to pierce the royal heart.
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further resources: Hilary Mantel | Wolf Hall
Welcome to Week 51 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 and 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 first half of Part Six. Chapter I. Mirror, June–July 1540.
In the UK Fourth Estate edition, this section runs from pages 809 to 847. In the US Picador edition, it runs from pages 697 to 729. It begins, “Sunset, Christophe stands on the threshold.” It ends, “As Wyatt writes, Lauda finem: praise the end.”
This summary is followed by a few footnotes of interest. This week, Cromwell’s story is rewritten by his enemies, and the Book Called Henry is burned. We consider Cromwell’s traitors, the ways of dying well, and Cromwell’s final letter to the king.
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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