Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Some books stay with you long after you turn the last page. Fragments of evocative or witty phrases, soaked in the novel’s atmosphere cling to the recesses of your mind. Often, these lines are spoken by characters that feel real enough to have a conversation with. Their presence outlasts the story. Bring up the Bodies will reside in my memory for its wit and the deep, dark and inscrutably enigmatic character of Thomas Cromwell.

This is the second book in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy. The first two books of the three-book series won the Man Booker Prize in 2009 and 2012.

The trilogy charts the emergence of Thomas Cromwell from the grimy streets of Putney. The son of a blacksmith, Thomas tried his hand at many a trade— mercenary soldier, roadside card sharp, wool trader, and banker, before clawing his way to becoming Cardinal Wolsey’s protégé. Following the Cardinal’s death, Cromwell rose through the ranks at court to become arguably the most powerful man in England after the King. In a passage about Cromwell refusing to adopt a more illustrious family’s heraldry, Hilary Mantel shows us not just the swiftness of Cromwell’s rise but also his sagacity.

“He has no ancestors, of course: not the kind you’d boast about. There was once a noble family called Cromwell, and when he came up in the King’s service the heralds had urged him for the sake of appearances to adopt their coat of arms; but I am none of theirs, he had said politely, and I do not want their achievements.”

Bring up the Bodies opens in the year 1535. Thomas Cromwell is 50 years old and occupies the position of Master of the Rolls and Master Secretary to the King alongside several other minor offices. Manoeuvring the exit of Queen Anne Boleyn, of whom King Henry VIII is beginning to tire, is amongst Cromwell’s primary goals in this volume in addition to arranging the king’s third marriage and avoiding war with Spain and France.

Catching a spark of interest in Henry’s eye, Cromwell places Anne’s polar opposite, the demure Jane Seymour in Henry’s path as a suitable replacement to give Henry the son he craves, thereby securing the future of the Tudor line.

Mantel’s narrative is a third-person omniscient perspective focussed so closely on Cromwell that it reads almost like a first-person narrative. The use of present tense adds a rawness and immediacy to this riveting historical fiction, showing us just how high the stakes were. And not just the ones used to burn heretics and political opponents!

Most people reading this book are likely to be aware of the broad historical details of the Tudor era, especially Henry VIII’s tumultuous reign. The historical Cromwell, however, is a rather opaque figure with precious little known about him. That is precisely what makes his character an ideal place for history to meet fiction.

Mantel is masterful in her use of imagery and dialogue to portray a diplomatic tug-of-war, the intrigues of desire and a constant wrangling for power amongst the courtiers. In the midst of all this, stands Cromwell—an agile political survivor with more enemies than he can count, kept at bay only by his razor-sharp intellect, incisive understanding of human nature and Machiavellian manoeuvres.

“Every day as Master Secretary he deals with grandees who, if they could, would destroy him with one vindictive swipe, as if he were a fly. Knowing this, he is distinguished by his courtesy, his calmness and his indefatigable attention to England’s business.”

Mantel paints Cromwell’s character in contradictory hues. This is a man proud yet humble, ruthless yet merciful, opportunistic yet loyal and practical yet sentimental. And most of all, brilliant beyond contradiction.

It is this reputation for intelligence and a prodigious memory that Thomas Cromwell uses to intimidate people. Every now and then, he allows the glinting edge of his intellect to catch the light. People’s imaginations do the rest, resulting in ever more tales of his brilliance.

There is a wonderful scene where Edward Seymour asks Cromwell for a rematch of a game of chess they played three years ago, complaining that he'd lost only because Cromwell had distracted him. Cromwell offers to align the board exactly as it was when Edward lost his train of thought. It’s a psychological trick at best, but effective nonetheless.

Mantel portrays Cromwell as an excellent judge of character, generous with his advice and help, extremely observant and blessed with the incredibly useful ability to bite his tongue when required. He holds grudges but refrains from immediate retaliations. Instead, he serves his revenge cold.

“If he had a grievance against you, you wouldn’t like to meet him at the dark of the moon. His father Walter used to say, ‘My boy Thomas, give him a dirty look, and he’ll gouge your eye out. Trip him and he’ll cut off your leg. But if you don’t cross across him, he’s a very gentleman. And he’ll stand anybody a drink.’”

What sets Bring up the Bodies, in fact the entire Wolf Hall Trilogy, apart from other historical fiction about the Tudor Era is that it doesn’t cast Kings and Queens as protagonists. In this tale, Cromwell is the hero and we see Henry VIII only through Cromwell’s eyes. As a result, readers sees Henry’s dithering, his extreme dependence on his advisors, his gradual decline into paranoia, and an absolute lack of accountability for his own decisions. It is left to Master Cromwell to do what the King wants and needs done.

“He knows the king is devout and afraid of change. He wants the church reformed, he wants it pristine; he also wants money. But as a native of the sign Cancer, he proceeds crab-wise to his objective: a side-shuffle, a weaving motion.”

Regardless of the age he lived in, Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell is a man of surprisingly modern ideas. With an egalitarian bent of mind, given his own humble beginnings, Cromwell keeps abreast with the problems of the average man and woman instead of restricting himself to court and his country home. His concern for the future of England and the upliftment of her people comes through.

“It is better not to try people, not to force them to desperation. Make them prosper; out of superfluity, they will be generous. Full bellies breed gentle manners. The pinch of famine makes monsters… England needs better roads, and bridges that don’t collapse. He is preparing a bill for Parliament to give employment to men without work, to get them waged and out mending the roads, making the harbours… We could pay them, he calculated, if we levied an income tax on the rich… In a generation everything can change.”

Bring up the Bodies allows readers into Thomas Cromwell’s mind, feeding us nuggets from his past and revealing the rationale behind his political and diplomatic moves. Yet, after all, he remains an enigma - unpredictable and unknowable. Mantel’s Cromwell is like a figure walking down a partially-lit pathway, not entirely visible but enough for an observer to form an impression. I recommend you take a look.