I bought a hardback copy of this book for £2 from a charity shop shortly after it had been published and it has taken me until now to get around to reading it. I was put off reading it mainly because it looked like such a thick tome whenever I passed it, which was very often as it was situated on that bookcase which is half-way up the stairs, on the mezzanine level, well that’s what an estate agent would call it.
Actually it turned out to be not as long as I had thought, just 650 pages but I have to report that although I enjoyed Wolf Hall, I wasn’t as enamoured of it as so many other readers seem to have been. I think maybe I’ve just had enough of the Tudors at the moment, that era does seem to be the one everyone concentrates on. Having said that, I will read the sequel whenever I can get hold of it.
My favourite history book concerning that time is The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser and if you’re keen on the Tudors then you’ll really enjoy that one. Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s a history book rather than fiction, it’s very readable.
Speaking of huge tomes, I’ve decided to start reading the book which I bought at the Chatsworth shop last summer when we visited that stately home. It’s The Mitfords – Letters Between Six Sisters and I plan to read 30 or 40 pages each day, otherwise I’ll never get around to it at all. It’s 804 pages long and very heavy and unwieldy, not easy bedtime reading.
But which book am I going to choose to read on my Kindle now – decisions, decisions!
I haven’t read Wolf Hall, I’m supposed to read it for a book group next month but I can’t work up any enthusiasm. But I did very much enjoy the Mitford letters – such unique voices, across the better part of a century.
Lisa,
I’ve read a lot of Nancy’s novels but nothing in the biographical line, I think it’ll be really interesting.
I just picked up Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser at the thrift shop!
Haven’t heard of the Mitfords. Sounds good will have to look for it.
Peggy Ann,
That was the first Antonia Fraser book which I read, I hope you enjoy it. Look out for Nancy Mitford’s books. I’ll e-mail you about them when I get a chance!
Wolf Hall looks at me often from my bookshelf and as of yet unread. One day!
I have never read anything by the Mitfords, but am enjoying Chatsworth on BBC 1 that I may pick up something about the Dowageger Duchess of Devonshire.
Jo,
I’ve just been catching up with Chatsworth on the iPlayer. I’m so glad we visited it last year as it adds so much to the programme, I feel that I know the place, we had a great day there.
I started Wolf Hall but didn’t finish it. I had a problem with Mantel’s writing. She would often say ‘he turned’ or ‘he shouted’ and it wasn’t clear to me which of the people she’d just been writing about was the ‘he’. Maybe I’m just stupid. I know many, many people love the book, but I just found it annoying.
I do like Antonia Fraser’s books and agree with you that even her non-fiction flows like fiction.
Joan,
I’m so glad that you mentioned that because I felt exactly the same and I was thinking that it was maybe me being ‘thick’ or just too tired when I was reading it. I’ll read the sequel mainly because I want to know how she deals with Anne Boleyn.
I really enjoyed reading The Sisters – the Story of the Mitfords. There wasn’t much in it about Nancy, though, whose nocels I find wickedly funny.
Debbie,
I read some of Nancy’s books for the first time when I was a teenager and remember really laughing out loud, which I can’t say happens to me often. There seem to be so many Mitford books around, the Chatsworth shop was full of them.
Well, I’m glad you gave this a shot even if you didn’t love it as much as I did! I know Mantel’s writing is kind of difficult to adore – it took me a few times, but now I am devoted. I am reading the sequel now and it is much easier to read and clips along at a much faster pace.
I have read The Wives of Henry VIII by Fraser and I agree that it is a fantastic book. Very comprehensive, yet very readable.
Anbolyn,
This was the first Mantel book which I read. You got to the sequel fast, I’m glad to know it’s faster. You might like Fraser’s Mary Queen of Scots too. I almost bought her Oliver Cromwell book today but I dislike him so much I decided to give it a miss in case it put my blood pressure up!
I really liked Wolf Hall. once I’d got used to Mantel’s writing and her use of the present tense. I’ve just read the sequel, Bring Up the Bodies and don’t think it’s as good as Wolf Hall. She does qualify when the ‘he’ she is writing about is Cromwell – ‘he, Cromwell’, which is helpful. But I think it lacks the drama of Wolf Hall, even though, as we know, Anne gets her head chopped off. I wouldn’t rush to read it if were you.
I have Antonia Fraser’s Mary Queen of Scots and keep meaning to read it & also Alison Weir’s Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley. I loved Weir’s The Princes in the Tower.
As for The Mitfords, I bought it a few years ago and haven’t read it for just those reasons – so long, unwieldy and not easy to read in bed!
Margaret,
I won’t rush to read it then, I’ll wait until I fall over it one day and I have nothing better to read. I haven’t read anything by Alison Weir at all, I’ll certainly track her books down.
I sometimes end up with a pile of cushions on the bed to help prop up the book I’m reading. It helps to get the correct angle to avoid getting a sore neck or arms.
I’m a Wolf Hall fan and am looking forward to reading Bringing up the Bodies, but I have to admit Mantel’s style is not easy to read and the story is a big dense at times. I’ve had The Sisters on my shelf for years, and I’m toying with the idea of actually reading it soon.
I agree, The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser is a wonderful book.
Jane GS,
If I’m honest the main reason I want to read Bring up the Bodies is so that I can find out how Anne Boleyn comes to grief. I like to think that Antonia Fraser wrote an accurate account of it but I don’t know if there are eye-witness accounts around. I admit it – I’m being gruesome!