What goes up. . . .

This book deserves a better-written review than it’s going to receive from me, since I read it at the beginning of the year, didn’t write a review, and now it’s December 30th. My own damn fault.

This is the sequel to Wolf Hall, the story of the rise of Thomas Cromwell (and, at about the same time, Anne Boleyn). The king and Cromwell are staying with the Seymours at their home, Wolf Hall (which made me wonder why the first book was called that, since they didn’t get there until the end). The king is not happy with Anne B., since there has been no male heir. He’s on the lookout for his next victim. Um, wife. Yeah, that’s it.

So, there’s quiet, pretty, unassuming, docile, whatever, Jane Seymour. Her family pretty much shoves her down the king’s throat, and vice versa. She’s a good girl and does what’s good for her family. So the king starts the plan to get rid of Anne. Of course, Anne and Cromwell are tied together. They rose together, and now they will fall together. Cromwell does what his king wants, and finds a way (any means necessary) to get rid of Anne. It doesn’t end well for her, but she goes out in the most dignified way she can.

We all know how it ends for Anne, and for Cromwell (there are no spoilers in history). The next book is to be called The Mirror and the Light, and will cover the last four years of Cromwell’s life. Should be interesting.