Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall has taken out the big one!
Her book revolves around Thomas Cromwell ‘the blacksmith boy who became Henry VIII’s right-hand man’:
Wolf Hall stands on its own, as a complete story – it is the end of one vital chapter in Thomas Cromwell’s life, and perhaps when we meet him again he will be slightly different. Five years are before him, his rise and rise – the destruction of Anne Boleyn, the battle for the soul of Henry’s daughter Mary, a revolt which is almost a civil war, the shaking and remaking of England…
I love her quote on the enduring fascination of the Tudors: ‘Almost all the stories you might want to tell are lurking behind the arras’.
So congratulations to Hilary, and if you’ve read Wolf Hall do chime in and tell us what you thought. I’m still patiently waiting to get my hands on a copy …
- Bookies favourite wins the 2009 Prize – Man Booker site
- Our page on the Man Booker Prize (including previous finalists and winners)
Christchurch City Libraries Blog 
Well done Scoop! You beat Bookman to the punch! Really looking forward to reading Wolf Hall but I suspect it will be a summertime/Christmas treat – I’m number 41 on the waiting list! Has anyone read it who wants to comment?
It sounds very dense. I’m not sure if I have the will power to plough through this one. Hopefully someone will love it and I will become more enthused.
I haven’t read it yet but my wife read it and thought it was great. I’d read her earlier novels – often droll black comedies – and really liked her and when she was the film critic for a while in The Spectator she was great – she took things seriously while also knowing that most big movies were commercial concoctions anyway and didn’t need much analysis.
I was so glad Mr Coetzee didn’t win for the third time as, good as he is, he seems a pretty dour character and I wasn’t impressed at all by his address at the Auckland literary blatherthon last year.
I have it at home to read. It is indeed a dauntingly mahoosive tome but I adored Mantel’s Beyond Black with its unlikely heroine psychic Alison Hart so I will climb “Wolf Hall” mountain and succeed!
Well good luck Joycie, personally I think you will need it.
Interesting to judge Coetzee’s ability to win the Booker by the fact that he wasn’t impressive at at “blatherathon”. I suppose these days like all types of so called celebrities we judge writers by their personality as much as their writing skills.