The Mirror & the Light

I love Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about the Tudor Age, this book being the third. I love the way she sheds light on the Tudor Age by focusing on one person, Thomas Cromwell. This third novel draws his story to a tragic conclusion in prose that I found exquisite.

In my opinion, Hilary Mantel’s trilogy is the finest fiction of our times. As a lover of both fine writing and Tudor history, I found this third book, like the previous two, impossible to put down. It not only tells a compelling story; it also sets the gold standard for anyone who… show more.

This is the third in Mantel’s Wolf Hall series chronicling the life of Thomas Cromwell during the reign of Henry VIII. I had read each of the first two books when they came out, but for some reason, I kept putting this one off. In the end, my curiosity on how Mantel would end Cromwell’s story pushed me to read it.

Her rich characterizations, stunning descriptions that bring the age to life, and the sheer breadth and depth of the story make for compelling reading. The careful explication of Cromwell’s sudden fall and the far-reaching consequences for both his allies… show more.