Good Read

When I travel, I like to read historical fiction set in the place I plan to visit. Since I was to be in the U. K., Wolf Hall seemed a good choice. It turned out to be a great choice.

Author, Hilary Mantel approaches the turbulent time of Henry VIII through the eyes of those around him, most particularly Thomas Cromwell. Having some knowledge of English history around the reign of Henry VIII, I was able to enjoy Mantel’s marvelous development of characters like Cromwell, Wolsey and Cranmer. Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn leap off the page and spring to life. The novel gives the reader an appreciation for the humanity of those who would forever alter the course of England and Christianity.

Wolf Hall is well-researched and captures the confusion and nuances of the debates and the times. While we may never grasp with absolute certainty the complete motivation of the various individuals involved, Mantel presents the individuals in a credible fashion. One is left with a sense of complex people, living in a complex time, seeking to secure a vision of the future.

In a way, Wolf Hall made me appreciate the present. We are complex. Our world is complex. The future is out there, and there are competing visions for it.

I love a good read. For me, a good read always frames more questions. The debates in Wolf Hall are about the nature of marriage, Church, state, Catholic and Protestant. The answers to those questions shaped the world in which we live. What are the questions, we face, that will alter the course of history for the next 500 years?