There's a lot that can go wrong with a historical novel. If it isn't well-grounded in the facts, the reader may not feel as immersed in the story. If the narrative reads like a history textbook, even the most dedicated reader can drift off. At first glance, an account of Thomas Cromwell's (1485-1540) time as Henry VIII's (1491-1547) adviser sounds like it could fall into the latter camp. Fortunately, Hilary Mantel (1952-2022) strikes the perfect balance and gets it right every time.
Although Mantel's extensive research process shines on every page, it never gets in the way of her exceptional storytelling. Bring Up the Bodies (2012) is an accurate account of Thomas Cromwell's life that reads like a stunning piece of fiction. Mantel offers a unique perspective on an infamous story and breathes new life into Henry VIII's notorious Tudor courts.
Bring Up the Bodies: author
Hilary Mantel was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1952. She was raised in a strict Catholic household. Despite losing her faith at age 12, she claimed to have always suffered from feelings of guilt resulting from her religious upbringing.
Mantel authored her first novel, Every Day is Mother's Day, in 1985. As Mantel continued to write, it became apparent that she had a flair for historical fiction. Two of her early historical novels, Fludd (1989) and A Place of Greater Safety (1992), received prestigious awards.
With the release of Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy, Mantel's fame exploded. Each of the three novels—Wolf Hall (2009), Bring Up the Bodies, and The Mirror and the Light (2020)—received worldwide acclaim upon release. The first two novels in the trilogy received consecutive Booker Prizes. This made Mantel only the fourth person ever to win more than one.
Mantel's work is oft praised for its meticulous research. When creating Bring Up the Bodies, Mantel ensured that every character was in a location that matched up with authentic historical records. Every time a character visits a different country in her novels, it's because the figure the character is based upon was visiting the country during that period of time.
In 2014 Mantel was awarded a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to literature. She passed away in 2022, aged 70 years old.
Bring Up the Bodies: book background
Bring Up the Bodies is based on the true story of Thomas Cromwell's rise and fall as Henry VIII's adviser. The novel is the second book in Mantel's trilogy. It tracks the period between the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Katherine of Aragon and the dramatic downfall and execution of Anne Boleyn.
Henry VIII was the King of England between 1509 and 1547. He was a member of the House of Tudor, a Welsh Royal house that held the English throne between 1485-1603. Henry is best known for his six marriages, two of which infamously ended in execution.
Fig 1. Henry VIII (pictured above) was the King of England between 1509 and 1547. This portrait, painted by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/8-1543), was created sometime after 1537.
The narrative is told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's adviser.
Thomas Cromwell was an English lawyer who served as the chief adviser to Henry VIII between 1534 and 1540.
Mantel takes a sympathetic approach to Cromwell and attempts to see the world as he may have.
Historical representations of Thomas Cromwell typically portray him as cold, ruthless, and scheming. Mantel offers an alternative narrative, depicting Cromwell as an ingenious, talented, ambitious man doing his job to serve the country he loves. He is sympathetic to children and those beneath him and prefers to work with his brain than his hands. Mantel's efforts work to humanise a figure often depicted as inherently evil.
The book follows the action of Wolf Hall and precedes the events of The Mirror and the Light.
Bring up the Bodies: characters
Each character in Bring Up the Bodies is based on a real person. Even the minor characters in the book were based on actual people that played a role in Henry VIII's Tudor courts during the early fifteenth century. Mantel attempted to see the period through their eyes and imagine how they would have thought, acted, and reacted to the world around them.
| Character | Explanation |
| Thomas Cromwell | Thomas Cromwell has born to Walter Cromwell, a working-class blacksmith from Putney, England. He was a lawyer by trade, but by the events of Bring Up the Bodies, Cromwell has risen to become Henry VIII's primary adviser. Cromwell has no noble birthright or inheritance, making him an anomaly in the company of the King. The rest of Henry VIII's courtiers look down on Cromwell and despise that he has ascended to a position of immense power despite his low birth. They are always looking for ways to best him and have him fall out of the King's favour. Fortunately for Cromwell, he is knowledgeable, intelligent and alert, meaning he is never off his guard and always two steps ahead. During the novel, he helps King Henry VIII by engineering the downfall of Anne Boleyn. |
| Henry VIII | King Henry VIII is the King of England. After divorcing his previous wife, Katherine of Aragon, Henry marries Anne Boleyn. During this time, he grows more and more accustomed to the advice and friendship of Thomas Cromwell. When Henry falls in love with Jane Seymour and subsequently wants to end his marriage to Anne Boleyn, he chooses Cromwell to get the job done. The King is demanding, impatient, and hot-tempered, especially after a jousting accident, which leaves him with severe, long-lasting injuries. |
| Anne Boleyn | Anne Boleyn is the second wife of King Henry VIII. Together they have one daughter, Elizabeth. Anne is intelligent, witty, and argumentative. This causes the King to tire of Anne quickly. She is often the subject of malice and gossip. When Thomas Cromwell attempts to orchestrate Anne's downfall, the Boleyn family resist. However, Anne is eventually tried for treason and executed. |
| Jane Seymour | Jane Seymour is a lady-in-waiting at Wolf Hall, her family's home in Wiltshire. She is described as plain, unassuming, and sweet-tempered. Henry falls in love with her when he visits on a hunting trip and attempts to end his marriage with Anne to marry Jane. |
| Katherine of Aragon | Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon, is under house arrest when the events of Bring Up the Bodies occur. She is exiled from her daughter, Mary, and dies aged 50 in 1536. |
Bring Up the Bodies: synopsis
The novel opens at Wolf Hall, the home of the Seymour family in Wiltshire, where Henry VIII and his entourage are hunting. The King has grown infatuated with Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting at Wolf Hall. Henry's marriage to his second wife, Anne Boleyn, is beginning to falter. The couple regularly quarrels, and Henry is growing weary of Anne's shrewd intelligence and sharp tongue. Furthermore, Anne has so far failed to provide the King with his promised son, producing one daughter and suffering one miscarriage.
Anne Boleyn's daughter, Elizabeth I, would ascend to the throne in 1558. She was the last of the Tudor monarchs and would serve until her death in 1603.
It quickly becomes evident to Cromwell that the King would like Jane as a mistress. However, plans of action are cut short when Anne announces she is pregnant for the third time; the power changes hands once again.
Cromwell is at the height of his power, and with that comes many enemies. Schemes are always being plotted against him, and he must be on his guard to ensure he is two steps ahead of all those who would happily have him executed. Unfortunately, Cromwell's relationship with Anne Boleyn is also decaying, likely because Anne is becoming warier of the power and influence he holds.
Fig 2. This 1532-33 painting depicts Thomas Cromwell. This is the closest reference available that shows how Cromwell may have looked when Mantel's trilogy was set.
After sustaining near-death injuries during a nasty fall in a jousting accident, Henry grows frustrated and unpredictable. His love for Jane Seymour continues to grow, and Henry tells Cromwell that he has had enough of Anne. Cromwell, ever the person to solve a problem, agrees to do the job.
It's widely believed that this infamous jousting accident, which left Henry with numerous long-lasting injuries, turned the King from a charming, level-headed monarch into the aggressive, brutal tyrant he's remembered as today!
Cromwell tries to arrange for divorce. The Boleyns are resilient, refusing Cromwell's attempts at negotiation and threatening him. Attempting a new approach, Cromwell talks to those who know Anne best and collects rumours that Anne has been unfaithful. When Mark Smeaton, a musician that Cromwell is hosting, proudly boasts of his affair with the queen, Cromwell knows he has what he needs. Smeaton (after one too many glasses of wine) gladly lists several other men who have had affairs with Anne.
Anne Boleyn is arrested and taken to the Tower of London. She is accused of sleeping with five men, including her own brother George Boleyn, and of plotting the death of the King. The men accused of sleeping with Anne are also arrested.
Even though Cromwell is not convinced any of the evidence is true, he reminds himself that the men helped take down his beloved mentor and friend, Cardinal Wolsey. The chance to bring the men down is enough for Cromwell to move forward with the plan. Anne Boleyn and all the accused men are executed, and Henry arranges to marry Jane Seymour. By again fixing the King's problems and arranging his third marriage, Cromwell's position as Henry's chief adviser is no longer in doubt.
Bring up the Bodies: analysis
As Bring Up the Bodies closely follows actual events, Mantel's stylistic choices are critical. Any reader who researches the fate of Thomas Cromwell can discover how Mantel's trilogy will end. There is no room for plot twists, so she must create entertainment and tension in other ways. Mantel accomplishes this with careful research and a distinctive literary style that gives her prose captivating urgency.
Genre
Bring Up the Bodies is a historical fiction novel:
Historical fiction novels mirror the cultures, customs, and events of a particular time in the past. As the genre is still fiction, specific details like dialogue and plot devices may be added to complete the narrative.
Hilary Mantel's novels are grounded in truth. She is renowned for meticulously researching her novels to ensure they are accurate. It was important to her to understand Cromwell's actions without the benefit of hindsight offered to historians. Mantel wanted to immerse herself in the period and understand what led him to his decisions.
Point of view
One of the most challenging yet exciting elements of Bring Up the Bodies is its use of perspective. The narrative is told in the exceedingly rare third-person objective present tense.
In a third-person novel, the narrator writes about characters from outside the narrative. For example: 'He walked the dog.'
Usually, third-person novels are either written with a limited or omniscient perspective. In a limited perspective, the reader has access to the thoughts of one character. In an omniscient perspective, the reader knows the thoughts and motives of multiple characters.
Mantel's narration is neither limited nor omniscient. Readers are in Thomas Cromwell's shoes, meaning they can only access information as Cromwell finds it. However, unlike with a first-person limited perspective, Mantel doesn't let the reader access Cromwell's inner thoughts. While the perspective follows Cromwell and observes his daily routine, it does not exist within his head.
To better understand the perspective of Bring Up the Bodies, imagine being a fly on Thomas Cromwell's shoulder. You see what he sees, move where he moves and listen to what he says, but you never know what he's thinking.
Despite having no access to Cromwell's motives, readers still feel personally attached to him because they see the world through his eyes. The use of present tense makes the novel feel even more immediate, creating a sense of immersion, as though the reader is walking alongside Cromwell as he carries out his duties.
This narrative style serves a few critical functions:
- It allows Mantel to avoid making too many uninformed decisions about what the real Thomas Cromwell was thinking at a given moment.
- It adds mystery to the character. Thomas Cromwell is presented as astute, calculative, and uncompromising. If Mantel were to let the reader into his inner thoughts, it would ruin the enigma surrounding Cromwell's methods and tactics. A magician never reveals her tricks!
- It involves the readers in the present and makes them feel like the action is happening as they read it. They feel involved in Cromwell's actions and see the world precisely as he sees it.
Bring up the Bodies - Key takeaways
- Hilary Mantel's (1952-2022) Bring Up the Bodies is based on the true story of Thomas Cromwell's rise and fall as Henry VIII's adviser.
- The novel is the second book in Mantel's trilogy. It tracks the period between the annulment of Henry VIII's (1491-1597) marriage to Katherine of Aragon and the dramatic downfall and execution of Anne Boleyn.
- The novel is told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell.
- Bring Up the Bodies is a historical fiction novel, meaning it mirrors the cultures, customs and events of the time it is set in.
- The story is told in third-person objective present tense, an extremely rare point of view that makes the reader feel like they are walking beside Cromwell, observing his actions.
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