Wolf Hall Companion
Wolf Hall Companion

Author: Lauren Mackay

Publisher: Batsford Books

Published: 2020-09-08

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 184994685X

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An accessible and authoritative companion to the bestselling Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, published after the third and final book, The Mirror and the Light. Wolf Hall Companion gives an historian's view of what we know about Thomas Cromwell, one of the most powerful men of the Tudor age and the central character in Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy. Covering the key court and political characters from the books, this companion guide also works as a concise Tudor history primer. Alongside Thomas Cromwell, the author explores characters including Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cranmer, Jane Seymour, Henry VIII, Thomas Howard, Cardinal Wolsey and Richard Fox. The important places in the court of Henry VIII are introduced and put into context, including Hampton Court, the Tower of London, Cromwell's home Austin Friars, and of course Wolf Hall. The author explores not only the real history of these people and places, but also Hilary Mantel's interpretation of them.

The Mirror & the Light
The Mirror & the Light

Author: Hilary Mantel

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Published: 2020-03-10

Total Pages: 831

ISBN-13: 0805096612

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The brilliant #1 New York Times bestseller Named a best book of 2020 by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, The Guardian, and many more With The Mirror & the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with her peerless, Booker Prize-winning novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage. The story begins in May 1536: Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith’s son from Putney emerges from the spring’s bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour. Cromwell, a man with only his wits to rely on, has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to the breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. All of England lies at his feet, ripe for innovation and religious reform. But as fortune’s wheel turns, Cromwell’s enemies are gathering in the shadows. The inevitable question remains: how long can anyone survive under Henry’s cruel and capricious gaze? Eagerly awaited and eight years in the making, The Mirror & the Light completes Cromwell’s journey from self-made man to one of the most feared, influential figures of his time. Portrayed by Mantel with pathos and terrific energy, Cromwell is as complex as he is unforgettable: a politician and a fixer, a husband and a father, a man who both defied and defined his age.

Wolf Hall
Wolf Hall

Author: Hilary Mantel

Publisher: HarperCollins Canada

Published: 2010-07-01

Total Pages: 535

ISBN-13: 1443402842

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England 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 oppose him. The quest for the king’s freedom destroys his advisor, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum and a deadlock. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. The son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a bully and a charmer, Cromwell has broken all the rules of a rigid society in his rise to power. Narrowly escaping personal disaster—the loss of his young family and of Wolsey, his beloved patron—he picks his way deftly through a court where “man is wolf to man.” Pitting himself against parliament, the political establishment and the papacy, he is prepared to reshape England to his own and Henry’s desires. 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. Wolf Hall re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hair’s breadth, where success brings unlimited power, but a single failure means death.

Inside the Tudor Court
Inside the Tudor Court

Author: Lauren Mackay

Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited

Published: 2014-02-15

Total Pages: 519

ISBN-13: 1445637243

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A first-hand perspective on Henry VIII’s court and relationships

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature

Author: Richard Bradford

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2020-09-03

Total Pages: 2453

ISBN-13: 1119652642

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THE WILEY BLACKWELL COMPANION TO CONTEMPORARY BRITISH AND IRISH LITERATURE An insightful guide to the exploration of modern British and Irish literature The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature is a must-have guide for anyone hoping to navigate the world of new British and Irish writing. Including modern authors and poets from the 1960s through to the 21st century, the Companion provides a thorough overview of contemporary poetry, fiction, and drama by some of the most prominent and noteworthy writers. Seventy-three comprehensive chapters focus on individual authors as well as such topics as Englishness and identity, contemporary Science Fiction, Black writing in Britain, crime fiction, and the influence of globalization on British and Irish Literature. Written in four parts, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature includes comprehensive examinations of individual authors, as well as a variety of themes that have come to define the contemporary period: ethnicity, gender, nationality, and more. A thorough guide to the main figures and concepts in contemporary literature from Britain and Ireland, this two-volume set: Includes studies of notable figures such as Seamus Heaney and Angela Carter, as well as more recently influential writers such as Zadie Smith and Sarah Waters. Covers topics such as LGBT fiction, androgyny in contemporary British Literature, and post-Troubles Northern Irish Fiction Features a broad range of writers and topics covered by distinguished academics Includes an analysis of the interplay between individual authors and the major themes of the day, and whether an examination of the latter enables us to appreciate the former. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature provides essential reading for students as well as academics seeking to learn more about the history and future direction of contemporary British and Irish Literature.

Among the Wolves of Court
Among the Wolves of Court

Author: Lauren Mackay

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-09-30

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1786735520

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The tragic story of Anne Boleyn has been retold over the centuries, yet two key figures in Anne's life-her father Thomas and brother George- are often relegated to the margins of Henry VIII's turbulent reign. Well before Anne's coronation in 1533, Thomas was regarded as one of Henry's most skilled and experienced ambassadors, and George was a talented young courtier on the rise. But Anne's downfall was to have a devastating effect on her family – ultimately costing her and her brother their lives. A family whose success and prestige had been shaped over generations was destroyed in a violent and brutal episode as the king sought a new wife and a male heir. In this first biography devoted to the Boleyn men, Lauren Mackay takes us beyond the stereotypes of Thomas and George to present a story that has almost been lost to history. This book follows the Boleyn men as they negotiated their way through the ruthless game of politics among the wolves of the court, and establishes their place in Tudor history.

Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell

Author: Tracy Borman

Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

Published: 2015-01-06

Total Pages: 467

ISBN-13: 0802191665

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“An exceptional and compelling biography about one of the Tudor Age’s most complex and controversial figures.” —Alison Weir Thomas Cromwell has long been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power. As King Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Cromwell was the architect of the English Reformation; secured Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and plotted the downfall of his second wife, Anne Boleyn; and was fatally accused of trying to usurp the king himself. In this engrossing biography, acclaimed British historian Tracy Borman reveals a different side to one of history’s most notorious characters: that of a caring husband and father, a fiercely loyal servant and friend, and a revolutionary who was key in transforming medieval England into a modern state. Thomas Cromwell was at the heart of the most momentous events of his time—from funding the translation and dissemination of the first vernacular Bible to legitimizing Anne Boleyn as queen—and wielded immense power over both church and state. The impact of his seismic political, religious, and social reforms can still be felt today. Grounded in excellent primary source research, Thomas Cromwell gives an inside look at a monarchy that has captured the Western imagination for centuries and tells the story of a controversial and enigmatic man who forever changed the shape of his country. “An intelligent, sympathetic, and well researched biography.” —The Wall Street Journal “Borman unravels the story of Cromwell’s rise to power skillfully . . . If you want the inside story of Thomas Cromwell . . . this is the book for you.” —The Weekly Standard “An engrossing biography. . . . A fine rags-to-riches-to-executioner’s-block story of a major figure of the English Reformation.” —Kirkus Reviews “An insightful biography of a much-maligned historical figure.” —Booklist

A Companion to Wolves
A Companion to Wolves

Author: Sarah Monette

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2008-07-29

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780765357786

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Two of fantasy's hottest new talents deliver the story of Isolfr, a young nobleman, who is chosen to become a wolfcarl--a warrior who is bonded to a fighting wolf. Isolfr is deeply drawn to the wolves, and though as his father's heir he can refuse the call, he chooses to accept it.

A New Companion to Homer
A New Companion to Homer

Author: Ian Morris

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 784

ISBN-13: 9789004099890

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This volume is the first English-language survey of Homeric studies to appear for more than a generation, and the first such work to attempt to cover all fields comprehensively. Thirty leading scholars from Europe and America provide short, authoritative overviews of the state of knowledge and current controversies in the many specialist divisions in Homeric studies. The chapters pay equal attention to literary, mythological, linguistic, historical, and archaeological topics, ranging from such long-established problems as the "Homeric Question" to newer issues like the relevance of narratology and computer-assisted quantification. The collection, the third publication in Brill's handbook series, "The Classical Tradition," will be valuable at every level of study - from the general student of literature to the Homeric specialist seeking a general understanding of the latest developments across the whole range of Homeric scholarship.