Bring Up the Bodies

paperback, 432 pages

English language

Published July 10, 2013 by Picador.

ISBN:: 9780007315109

(1 review)

Bring Up the Bodies is a historical novel by Hilary Mantel; sequel to the award-winning Wolf Hall; and part of a trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful minister in the court of King Henry VIII. It won the 2012 Man Booker Prize and the 2012 Costa Book of the Year. The final novel in the trilogy, The Mirror and the Light, was published in March 2020.

46 editions

Aaron reviewed Bring up the bodies by Hilary Mantel

5 stars

Mantel's fictional retelling of the life of Cromwell continues, using the same conceits as the first book ("he" is always Cromwell). I assume no spoiler warnings are needed for a book describing events that took place 480 years ago: the book concerns the fall of Anne Boleyn, and Cromwell's role in making that happen. As Cromwell circles his prey and closes in, Mantel's writing is riveting and the verbal sparring is absolutely chilling. Reading it was an total pleasure.