Poetry of Reading: September 2023

The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel

by Natasa Djordjevic - 8:57 AM

“This is what life does for you in the end; it arranges a fight you can't win.”

This novel concludes Hilary Mantel's trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell. Mantel skillfully immerses readers in the story as Cromwell, a blacksmith's son of low birth, becomes Henry VIII's proxy to advance the king's interests, whether financial, marital, theological, or emotional. Unfortunately, Cromwell, the Lord Privy Seal, is also subject to his master's unpredictable nature. In this final book, Cromwell's opponents, Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, and Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, gain the upper hand and turn Henry against him.

The novel begins with Anne Boleyn's execution, and Cromwell uses his political schemes to improve not only his own family's fortune but also the king's. He continued to seize abbeys and Catholic properties and distribute the wealth among the nobility. Henry marries Jane Seymour, from a noble English family, which brings marital bliss but does little to secure England's increasingly tumultuous position against France and Spain. When Seymour dies after childbirth, Henry seeks another wife, this time to consolidate an alliance with Germany. He chooses Anne of Cleves, a decision that Cromwell is cautious about, and this disastrous union leads to his downfall.

This historical fiction novel humanizes Thomas Cromwell, a figure known for his meteoric rise from poverty to become King Henry's most trusted confidant and advisor, the Lord Privy Seal. Mantel writes sharp and witty dialogue that highlights her characters' strengths and weaknesses. According to her portrayal, Cromwell is haunted by his past in his dreams and waking moments, seeing the ghosts of friends, family, and even Bishop Wolsey, whom he once served. He is a cunning manipulator, an ambitious strategist, and a skilled interpreter of the king's desires and moods. However, his favor with Henry comes to an abrupt end.

I suggest reading the first two books in the trilogy before diving into this one. It requires some effort to remember the names of all the courtiers, politicians, clergy, and principal players in the Cromwell story, but Mantel provides a helpful guide. Nonetheless, this is an exceptional conclusion to the trilogy.

No Comments

Lustrum by Robert Harris

by Natasa Djordjevic - 3:20 PM

“Surely the greatest mercy granted us by Providence is our ignorance of the future. Imagine if we knew the outcome of our hopes and plans, or could see the manner in which we are doomed to die - how ruined our lives would be! Instead we live on dumbly from day to day as happily as animals. But all things must come to dust eventually. No human being, no system, no age is impervious to this law; everything beneath the stars will perish; the hardest rock will be worn away. Nothing endures but words.”

This is the second installment in a trilogy by Robert Harris featuring ancient Rome. I greatly enjoyed the first book, 'Imperium', and gave it five stars. I am even more impressed with this one. The series follows the life of Marcus Cicero, renowned as the world's greatest orator and the first professional politician. The first book detailed his ascent to consul, the leader of the Senate, from his humble beginnings as a lawyer. This book picks up where the first left off, as Cicero begins his one-year term as consul. It chronicles his daily life as a Roman leader, as well as his efforts to save the Republic from its enemies within. The book is written as if it was a personal account by Tiro, Cicero's long-time secretary and slave. While Tiro did write a history of Cicero's life, the original record has been lost. The author claims that the books are based on existing historical records, although they have been adapted to create an engaging novel. The writing is insightful, witty, intelligent, and distinctive. Reading Tiro's perspective and dry humor is entertaining in itself, regardless of the plot. The story takes place around 60 B.C., during the transition from a government elected by the people to a dictatorship ruled by a single person. The cast of characters includes well-known historical figures such as Pompey, Sulla, Sura, Catalina, Hortensius, a young Mark Antony, and Julius Caesar. While the books focus on Cicero, Caesar is portrayed as the antagonist, the personification of evil behind the scenes. It was Caesar's insatiable ambition that led to the destruction of the Roman constitution, and this book follows his rise from junior politician to dictator over the whole empire. The author skillfully weaves together politics, subterfuge, intrigue, debauchery, manipulation, military prowess, ambition, ego, patriotism, and other aspects of the human condition to create a story with ever-increasing tension that will keep you hooked. Additionally, the book provides a fascinating history lesson, as the events portrayed did occur.