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SETTING: 1500 to 1535 England, during the reign of Henry VIII.
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SUMMARY: Thomas Cromwell, born to a low-class family with an abusive, alcoholic father, finds himself working his way up the bureaucratic and bourgeois ladders in 16th century England. His hard work, dedication, and friendly charm raise him to the status of King Henry VIII's right-hand man, a dangerous position to have at the time.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: I couldn't decide between the following two:
- "For what's the point of breeding children, if each generation does not improve on what went before?" - Part 1, Chapter 3, page 40
- "'And look, Gregory, it's all very well planning what you will do in six months, what you will do in a year, but it's no good at all if you don't have a plan for tomorrow.'" - Part 6, Chapter 1, page 519
This novel was a gift from a very dear friend who quickly picked up on my favorite genres! The Tudor period, particularly the reign of Henry VIII, has always fascinated me, so much so that the first time I went to England as a teenager, I made sure to take a trip to Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII's many homes. The palace has an incredibly rich history, and I encourage you to give Wikipedia a quick browse through at your convenience and read up on it (there are obviously better sources, but who can deny the convenience of Wiki?). The palace itself is wonderful, but the gardens are where the true beauty lies. It was absolutely breathtaking, and if I ever find myself in a home with a garden and landscape with even a fraction of Hampton Court's garden's magnificence, it will be a true accomplishment.
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Things I liked about this book:
- TUDOR PERIOD! (And no, I haven't watched The Tudor's yet. Shocking! I know. But I will get hooked so I've been cautious and waiting for a time when I will have a few days to do nothing but dedicate endless hours to watching all four seasons.)
- The narration. It's in third person via Thomas Cromwell, but it reads like a 1st person narration in the sense that you really feel all of Cromwell's emotions and are left with a thorough understanding of his thoughts.
- The history. I am by no means an expert in this field, but the story stayed very true to everything that I have learned thus far about the Tudor period and Henry VIII.
- Piggy-backing on #3: I learned a lot of new historical information. It's always great to finish a book having learned something new.
- Gives a true picture of how quickly loyalties changed during that time, and leaves the reader with an appreciation for the fact that this fickleness of stance is not always the result of loose morals and beliefs. Rather, not doing so would lead to ostracism, and most likely death. As is still the case in modern society, staying on the "good" and popular side of any issue would result in ease, benefits, and a comfortable life, even if the good and popular side is blatantly wrong and corrupt. Sticking to values and thoughts that are against the mainstream would only lead to trouble.
- Tooooooooo many characters! I had a hard time keeping a few names straight, mostly because all the characters were named Mary, Jane, Thomas, John, or Richard -__- Of course, this isn't the author's fault (it's not like she can go back in time and rechristen all of her characters), and, to her credit, the author does give a list of all the characters, organized by house, at the beginning of the book. Still, it's a pain in the patookas to keep referring back to the list while reading. There were multiple times where I just made an assumption as to which Mary was being referred to (and I think I was usually right...).
I love love love love love love love books from this time period. A lot of my summer 2011 was spent reading books taking place in 16th century England, and I forgot just how much I enjoyed them! This book is a trilogy, and so a new project has been added to this upcoming summer: read the other two books! I'm already excited :D
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Recommend? Yes!
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