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The inscrutable Thomas Cromwell of Wolf Hall is back, only now he’s not scheming to install Ann Boleyn in Henry’s bed but rather to remove her from that bed. Henry’s tried and failed to sire a male heir in order to insure the Tudor reign, first with Katherine of Aragon and now with Ann Boleyn; so far he has only daughters to show for his efforts. Hunting at Wolf Hall he encounters demur Jane Seymour and Cromwell recognizes the stunned look in his king’s eyes—the Master Secretary has seen that look before. This is ancient history of course. We all know the tales of Henry VIII’s wives, know the fate of Ann Boleyn and for that matter of Jane Seymour. What is it, then, that makes that oft-told tale so fascinating in the hands of Hilary Mantel? This is a question sort of like how do I love thee, let me count the ways. In the first place, this is Cromwell’s story, not Boleyn’s. In the second, Mantel’s understanding not just of history but of the tides that move the world—her grasp of the currents of war and religion and thought and politics that shape an age and its people—is phenomenal. In the third, the writing, as always with Hilary Mantel, is sublime, and in the fourth, the characterization of Thomas Cromwell is sheer magic. Never have I been inside a head where I was happier. Mantel’s Cromwell is so canny, so interested and interesting, so quick to see and understand, such a mix of calculation and warmth, guile and openhandedness, cynicism and humanism that he’s both a cypher and an open book, no pun intended—as knowable and mysterious, understandable and ambiguous as any character in fiction—or for that matter, history. His plebian background, seen by his aristocratic enemies as weakness, is perhaps his greatest strength, giving him a clear-eyed understanding of the way the world works at all levels, an understanding his travel has only enhanced; his knowledge of finance not only increases his wealth but also his understanding of the realm; and his ambition is fueled not just by a desire for wealth and power but a love of country and king. Cromwell is powerful but so are the Boleyns. Once the Master Secretary sets out to do his king’s bidding, battle is joined. How paragraph after paragraph can be dense with thought and insight and at the same time heart-stopping is a mystery to me. But Bring up the Bodies is exactly that—heart-stopping. So settle back to witness one of the most memorable, dramatic, intriguing events in English history as seen through the eyes of one of history’s deepest and most complex players. Mantel tells us there has never been a comprehensive biography of Thomas Cromwell. After reading her books, who needs one?