In the spirit of this article in the New York Times, I thought it would be a good idea to post an old (2012) review I wrote about Mantel’s novel Bring Up The Bodies, The second part in the Thomas Cromwell series.
He, Cromwell
Near the beginning of Bring up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel’s sharply focused follow-up to 2009’s Man Booker Prize winner, Wolf Hall, Thomas Cromwell, now master secretary to the court of King Henry VIII, indulges in conversation and a bit of chess with Edward Seymour, brother of the future queen, at the Seymour’s family estate. As they discuss, among other topics, Martin Luther, the Emperor Charles of Spain, and Anne Boleyn, Mantel gives us a strong sense of who really is the chessmaster. It's a quick match, but as they play, it becomes evident the chessboard is meant as a microcosm of the cour…
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