Wolf Hall comes first and then Bring Up The Bodies. Excellent look at Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell as told through the mind of Thomas Cromwell. The narration is distinct, as though you were having a conversation with Cromwell. Very intelligent, revealing and clever. You can fall into these books and not come up for weeks. When they are over, you miss your friend. There is a third installment coming next year, I believe.
Hilary Mantel has found an entirely new way to write historical fiction. I don't know how she stumbled upon such an amazing narrative voice -- these stories are told from Cromwell's p-o-v, and he's never referred to except by pronouns. But it does make you feel like you are right there. And she completely bypasses all the "forsoothly" melodrama that historical novelists can fall into. Brilliant psychology. Can't wait for #3!
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