The Mirror and the Light - Hilary Mantel

Oh, how far we’ve come! Who would have believed that this very person, who a couple of years ago absolutely loathed Wolf Hall, would have finished Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy - and not only that, absolutely loved it?!

The Mirror & The Light resumes just after the beheading of Anne Boleyn, picking up exactly where Bring Up the Bodies left off. With the queen gone, Henry is ready to focus on his young new wife, Jane Seymour, with the hopes that she will produce him an heir.

Cromwell, a humble blacksmith’s son from Putney, continues to climb in power and status, as Henry VIII’s right-hand man. His wife and daughters are long dead and his relationship with his son Gregory is strained. When he discovers a daughter in Europe he didn’t know he had, his family life becomes even more confusing.

It isn’t long before Henry’s golden man is bound to fall from grace - the question is just when, and how. With traitors on English soil desperate to catch him out, as well as plots overseas to usurp the formidable Cromwell, it is just a matter of time before Henry, too, turns on the only man he can trust.

Once again this expansive and immersive historical fiction novel transports you back to 1530s England during the reign of one of the most notorious kings in history, and it is impossible to not feel invested in the story having come this far. Mantel’s writing is gruesome, daring and confident and I am so happy that I gave this trilogy a second chance - it is a thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Have you read the Cromwell trilogy, or any other Hilary Mantel? I’m keen to explore her work further if anyone has any recommendations!