The Mirror & the Light

The third and final book in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy. See here and here for my reviews of the previous books.

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Cost

This is a weighty book – literally – I could only read it in bed, propped on a pillow on my lap as it is too heavy to hold. The cover price for the hardback when published was £25. It cost me nothing as WOB (formerly World of Books) had a deal of buy four for the price of three. Currently, the paperback is £3.99 and the hardback is £9.79.

Plot

This book follows events from the execution of of Anne Boleyn in 1536 to the execution of Thomas Cromwell in 1540. Henry VIII, conscious that he hasn’t yet produced a son and heir, takes Jane Seymour, who Cromwell was considering, as his wife. Henry is forty-five, Jane is twenty-seven and they marry just eleven days after Boleyn died. Jane gave birth to a son in October 1537 but died twelve days later. In the book, Mantel portrays Henry as grief-stricken at the loss of the love of his life, but it’s not long before Henry realises he needs another wife to give him more heirs.

By January 1540, Henry is forty-nine and marries the twenty-five year old Ann of Cleves, the sister of a minor German Duke who would be an ally against invasion by the French. But the marriage was never consumated and was annulled the following August, though Ann remained in England with the title ‘the King’s Sister’.

Cromwell is elevated by Henry, first to Baron Cromwell (as Lord Privy Seal), later becoming Lord Cromwell, the Earl of Essex, though more ancient nobles took against him. But Henry blamed him for persuading Henry to marry to Ann. Mantel makes much, here, of Henry’s old leg wound, now festering and causing him great pain. In addition, physicians summoned, and paid for, by Cromwell, try to persuade Henry to go on a diet saying he can no longer eat as he used to because he is much less physically active – he no longer rides long distances, hunts, or takes part in jousts.

Cromwell, whether on trumped-up charges, or because he had grown too powerful – Mantel tells us he thought he should be made Regent until Prince Edward reached an age to rule – is arrested and taken to the Tower of London. The King ignores his letters and he is declared a traitor with his titles, land and properties seized or attainted, which means they cannot be passed on to his heirs.

Cromwell is beheaded (by axe) on 28 July 1540. The same day, Henry marries his fifth wife, seventeen-year-old Cathering Howard.

The book ends with Cromwell’s thoughts as he prepares for death; all his senses are awakened as he mounts the platform and is killed.

My Thoughts

Reading the previous two books, I developed an admiration for Cromwell – the poor boy made good against all the odds. He did all Henry’s dirty work quietly and withour demur, and was rewarded for it, yet he was never accepted by the old guard of nobles. Mantel showed us his humanity and a richness of feeling and emotion – which I think came across well in the TV adaptation starring Mark Rylance as Cromwell and Damian Lewis as Henry. There was an energy and vitality to Cromwell as he schemed and plotted on behalf of his King.

In this third book, Cromwell is aging. He will be fifty-five years old at his death and has a reoccurance of the ‘italian sickness’ (malaria) which had plagued him on and off. While he is ill, former allies Richard Rich and Thomas Wriothesley, who Cromwell had trained and mentored, turn against him and are instrumental in helping turn the King against him, and there is a sense of loss at this.

In addition, both his son, Gregory, and his nephew, Richard Cromwell, are married and mostly living away from court (at Cromwell’s insistance) so he can distance them from himself.

He is tired and has many regrets, but believes he has had a good life and has done much good. Mantel sends him to his execution with a light heart, at the end.