Extraordinary. I've been in Tudor England for the duration.

Such an evocative, tactile read, bringing with it a real sense of place and time. And unusually, I found the book and recent BBC TV adaptation really complemented each other, each adding to my enjoyment and understanding of the period. Some of the facts might be little known or in dispute, but this is a fine book to bring one face-to-face with the difficulties of staying in favour,on the right side of the religious divide, and even alive, at Henry VIII's court. ( )

Not as good as "wolf Hall"; less novel than history; hard to feel real empathy with anyone very deeply. Gives a sharply focused view of Anne Boleyn and Cromwell, swept along by life as so much flotsam. ( )

Can't wait for #3. Henry still has a lot of wives to get to. Amazing writing and Thomas gets his revenge I the end. Wow. ( )

“…it is no small enterprise, to bring down a queen of England.” So says Thomas Cromwell, who in Bring up the Bodies finds himself charged with doing just that…again. It’s unlikely that anyone reading this novel is being introduced to its major players for the first time. Henry VIII and his many wives have been fiction fodder for centuries. But Mantel’s version of the downfall of Anne Boleyn, her family and her courtiers feels brand-spanking new even to those who have read all the novels and watched all the dramas. It’s a matter of perspective. To see this history, much of which is unreliably recorded at best, from the point of view of the man most responsible for carrying out the King’s wishes, casts it all in a clearer and much less romantic light than many others have done. In Henry’s Court, queens, no less than advisors, are replaceable. MUST be replaceable if they do not fulfill the duties and meet the needs of the King, whatever the laws of man and God seem to dictate to the contrary. Cromwell himself knows quite well that he is not exempt from this rule. “Sometimes he wakes in the night and thinks of it. There are courtiers who have honourably retired. He can think of instances. Of course, it is the other kind that loom larger, if you are wakeful around midnight.” Logic suggests that one day, possibly without warning, Henry will turn on him, and his efforts to satisfy the King’s desires will be viewed as treason when those desires change once more. So far, that day has not come. His heart is not faint, and his scruples do not trouble him. He methodically removes the stumbling blocks –most of them human—from the path King Henry has chosen to follow. And then it is inevitable that someone will ask “…if this is what Cromwell does to …lesser enemies, what will he do by and by to the king himself?” Mantel’s style can be challenging, but I have not found it so since becoming absorbed in the first 50 pages or so of Wolf Hall, to which Bring up the Bodies is a sequel. Her research, imagination and storytelling skills have made her one of my favorite contemporary authors. May she live and prosper to recount the rest of Cromwell’s fascinating contributions to English history. We all know, or can easily find out, whether it is Henry or Crumb who will bring the other down. But how we long to hear it from the inimitable vantage point Mantel has established. ( )

Knowing what to expect from this novel after reading [b:Wolf Hall|6101138|Wolf Hall (Wolf Hall, #1)|Hilary Mantel|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1336576165s/6101138.jpg|6278354] -- and already knowing how the story of Anne Boleyn goes -- this book did not "wow" me or impress me as much as the first book of the series. However, it's still good, still written in a unique way, between subtle and descriptive. Cromwell is still a sympathetic character, perhaps less conniving and calculating in this book and more matter-of-fact, but as intelligent and agressive as ever. ( )