Wolf Hall

By: Hilary Mantel

Narrated by: Simon Slater

Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII's court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king's freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage.

With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Hilary Mantel (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Had to WORK to stay awake...

Would you try another book from Hilary Mantel and/or Simon Slater?

There could not possibly be a more boring perspective from which to tell the dynamic happenings of Henry VIII's court than that of Thomas Cromwell. In this telling, Cromwell is just a work-a-day secretary/ attorney to Henry. So it's like hearing about say, JFK's presidency from his executive assisant. It is interesting but I cannot fathom the people who say they LOVE this book. I love this time period so I stayed committed despite putting it down and getting lost innumerable times.

What three words best describe Simon Slater’s voice?

He is pretty good.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was a new perspective on a much told tale.

Excellent Story and Performance

This is an amazing book, the voice of Thomas Cromwell sounds so authentic, I wonder if she is a time traveler. This book captivated me, his manner of speaking, his comportment; his entire being is there as if he were speaking to you. Hilary Mantel’s tour de force is matched by Simon Slater’s performance. I felt transported to the Henry the Eighth’s England, and now that I have finished the book, I have a hard time leaving it. This is a book I will listen to again and again, it is so rich in content I will gladly revisit it and glean more for the author’s command of people and history, and the narrator’s stellar performance. I recommend this listen with no reservations.

Great writing but oh so tedious...

Hilary Mantel is a fab writer her craft and description a 10...but ugh such a long tedious venture-z-z-z.

Confused Character

Would you listen to Wolf Hall again? Why?

Not of this performance.

Would you be willing to try another one of Simon Slater’s performances?

Probably not.

Who was the most memorable character of Wolf Hall and why?

Mantel's revisionist view of Cromwell is the heart and soul of the text. More and Henry VIII are distant secondary characters.

Any additional comments?

Slater would often time confuse voices or inflect no voice difference where he had previously provided a distinct voice to a character. Consequently, the listener is often times unsure of who is speaking the text. Pauses were sometimes absent between conversations and even between chapters, adding to the confusion. This latter annoyance may have very well been the result of poor editing. Luckily, I had the text to follow, which helped to clarify the character placement. Anyone without a printed or e-copy of the book will likely run through spells of confusion.

My favorite book

I learn more every time I listen to it - a fantastic book and a wonderful performance.

alsmot time travel

Narrative structure didnt seem super compelling, but I did enjoy the very vivid vignettes that included the weather, what people wore, what they were thinking about, what they were worried about. The lector was superb, too.

Very atmospheric

What made the experience of listening to Wolf Hall the most enjoyable?

Simon Slater's excellent reading

Who was your favorite character and why?

Thomas Cromwell; a man of wit and wisdom

Which character – as performed by Simon Slater – was your favorite?

The Ambassador

If you could rename Wolf Hall, what would you call it?

Henry VIII's Wise Man

Requires careful attention

If you could sum up Wolf Hall in three words, what would they be?

Visual, compelling, fascinating

What other book might you compare Wolf Hall to and why?

For some reason this book reminds me of Saturday by Ian McEwan for the way it brings you into the life and thought of one man.

Any additional comments?

I tried listening to this book twice in the past, and had to put it aside because my mind wandered, and when it came back, I couldn't figure out where I was and lost interest.

I'm putting in the extra effort this time due to the soon to be available sequel, Bring Up the Bodies (not sure when it will be available on Audible), which see on Amazon has had good reviews for the audio version.

This time, I'm careful to listen when I can give this my full attention, which means that sometimes I have to switch to something else that's not possible. Giving it a careful listen, I agree with past reviewers who give it five stars. This performance is a little hard to follow, but some of that could be due to the text, and reviewers of the sequel say that Bring Up the Bodies is easier to follow than this book. I'm looking forward to reading that as soon as I am done with Wolf Hall. Highly recommended to anyone who can give this their undivided attention!

Best read first

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I found the narrator's portrayal of Thomas Moore distasteful and extreme. I shall have to do more research before I determine if Moore was really as brutal and snide as Mantel alludes. I found it difficult to determine who was speaking at times and the cast of characters was difficult to keep track of. I'd have preferred to read the book prior to listening to the audio so that I'd have brought greater understanding to the listening.

What did you like best about this story?

A fascinating look at a complex and brutal era. The writer makes fine use of language to describe life and portray character's we know by name.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Pause more often rather than rush from one character to the next where, though he did a good job with voice differentiation, I found it difficult to track who was speaking. The one character you could never mistake was Moore, and I'd have preferred less of the narrator's interpretive skill.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes. Most likely.

Great Book

I live this book. I can't wait to read the next one. The PBS series is really good too.