Wolf Hall

This is such a tremendous and epic novel. I've long been intimidated to read it as this history is rather foreign to me and I've been told the cast of characters was large and difficult to follow. The same could be said of War & Peace and I loved that novel, so I'm not sure why I hesitated so long.

Mantel expertly brings history to fascinating life. This story seems so well researched and painstakingly sculpted. The events surrounding Thomas Cromwell were rendered with such care and attention to detail. I know so little about Cromwell–and I have my doubts he was as wonderful and generous as he is portrayed here–but Mantel certainly handles the subject with great care.