“A Man For All Seasons” is one of my favourite films Cromwell is the nemesis of its hero, former Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More, who was martyred after refusing to sign the Act of Succession. Is he, Cromwell, lining himself up to marry Henry’s daughter, Mary, and rule? Could that be why he rarely kneels in front of the king? Is he trying to murder the entire nobility of England? Real life is rarely one-dimensionalĬromwell is arrested, and as the ghosts of his past gather and he cries “mercy, mercy, mercy,” he is sentenced to be killed on the same day that Henry marries wife number five, Katherine Howard. And when he takes to his bed with a fever, they begin whispering in Henry’s ear. The marriage is annulled, but Henry needs someone to blame for its failure.Ĭromwell’s enemies sense his power is ebbing. The meeting doesn’t go well, and Henry declares “I like her not!”įrom there, the writing’s on the wall for Cromwell.

Anne arrives on English shores just before New Year, when Henry decides to surprise her in fancy dress. With Jane’s death, the opportunity arises for Cromwell to cement his position, by arranging a politically expedient marriage for Henry to Anne of Cleeves. Yet as a blacksmith’s son, he’s only too aware that his own future depends on Henry’s “smile or frown”. Essentially, he is the de facto ruler of England.Ĭromwell declares Henry to be “the mirror and the light of all other kings and princes in Christendom”. By turns a Baron, Knight of the Garter, and Earl, he is second only to Henry in matters of state and of religion. With Henry’s third marriage to Jane Seymour and the subsequent birth of a healthy son, “Crumb” has seemingly secured his own position. Two wives have been cast aside, the dissolution of the monasteries has made money and lands available, and Cromwell’s legal experience has the Commons eating out of Henry’s hands. Thanks to his astute, perceptive nature, Cromwell has facilitated fulfilment of the first three wishes, rising to become Henry’s second-in-command. The book begins with Thomas Cromwell now fifty years old, and at the peak of his power as the fixer and factotum of Henry VIII.īig spender Henry needs money, craves more power, and demands complete autonomy as regards being able to decide whether a marriage is valid, or not. So much has changed since 1536, when this book begins, yet there’s much we can relate to. It sees fever sweeping across the UK, and the world.

“The Mirror And The Light” is the third and final part of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy. Sign up to our Weekly newsletter Subscribe to our magazine for more great content

The mirror and the light book review