Easily the most highly regarded book (in theory) on my list this year so far. This won both the Man Booker and Costa Book of the Year in 2012, making this Mantel's second prize winner on the bounce after the first in the Cromwell series Wolf Hall. Both these books are sort of seminal in my own life and share the odd distinction of both being bought for me by my mum. Wolf Hall was a 'cheer up, you've only broken and displaced a metatarsal' present, whilst this one was a 'cheer up, you've only got a promotion' present. Both were very well received.
Bring Up The Bodies finishes exactly where Wolf Hall left off; Thomas Cromwell is staying at Wolf Hall where Henry VIII has just become acquainted with a certain Jane Seymour, whilst Anne Boleyn's popularity with the hot-headed king is starting to wane. From there, Mantel details the last six months of Anne's life and Cromwell's part in them. I've read this story time without number, mainly in Philippa Gregory novels, but also in random other ones, including some awful thing by Emily Purdy which was one of the worst books I ever had the misfortune to buy. This, however, comes at it from Cromwell's viewpoint and he is the hero of proceedings. In this respect, this novels are more political than romantic, which actually isn't such a bad thing; there isn't much romance in having your head chopped off, after all.
The vast cast of the Tudor court does make this confusing at times, but Mantel does give people quite distinctive characters to help with that. The cast list at the beginning is more useful as you read as you can check back; it means almost nothing before the story starts. Mantel's chosen style of narration is also, at times, grating, and more so than in Wolf Hall. I'm not sure why she chooses to refer to Cromwell simply as 'he' all the time, especially as it makes for awkward reading quite frequently when she has to make the distinction and write 'he, Cromwell, walks down the corridor'. Why bother?
The great advantage this novel has is the story which is better than anything anybody could make up anyway. It has everything a blockbuster should have: sex, betrayal, gossip and fights. I knew the story in some detail anyway, and yet this threw fresh light upon it; I've always assumed Mark Smeaton was tortured and yet this suggests it was perhaps ambiguous. Mantel's great strength is that she makes the reader root for Cromwell despite his frankly quite odious nature, at least as classically depicted. I'm actually sort of dreading book 3 which will detail his downfall.
A brilliant read as far as I'm concerned.
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