"Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel

"Bring Up the Bodies" is the second book in Hilary Mantel's "Cromwell Trilogy," which I am reading as part of a year-long "slow readalong" hosted by Simon Haisell at "Footnotes and Tangents." It's the 2012 follow-up to "Wolf Hall" (reviewed here), which we read (on a weekly schedule) from January through mid-April. We are just finishing "Bring Up the Bodies" (as a group) this week, and will begin Book #3, "The Mirror and the Light," next week. (Join us for that one at Footnotes & Tangents, Cromwell Trilogy!) 

King Henry VIII is now married to Anne Boleyn -- who has failed to provide him with the male heir he craves -- and his attention is turning to one of her attendants, young Jane Seymour. He enlists Thomas Cromwell -- now Master Secretary and his Chief Minister -- to help rid himself of Anne and win Jane as his next (third!) wife -- just as Cromwell helped him orchestrate his divorce from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Anne. But as Anne's position at court becomes ever-more precarious, so too does Cromwell's...  

Like "Wolf Hall," "Bring Up the Bodies" is beautifully written. It is, however, a much faster and somewhat less dense/more accessible read than "Wolf Hall" was, covering a much shorter time frame in history. (While the events in "Wolf Hall" unfold over several decades, from 1500 to 1535, "Bring Up The Bodies" covers less than a year, from September 1535 to the summer of 1536.)  Simon, who is hosting the readalong, calls it "a thriller," and I must admit, it was hard not to go beyond the allotted pages each week to find out what would happen next!  ;)  The tension is palpable -- even though we, the readers, all know what ultimately happened, to Anne, to Henry, to Jane Seymour and, ultimately, to Cromwell himself.  (But that's another book...!)  

The readalong includes weekly discussion posts, chats, a cast of characters and other supplementary material, to provide context and facilitate greater understanding -- all free of charge. (Paid subscribers get occasional supplementary posts, and can initiate their own chats.)  These features have contributed enormously to my enjoyment and appreciation of the book, and I highly recommend the experience!   

I gave Wolf Hall "a solid 4 stars on Goodreads (possibly even 4.5)."  "Bring Up the Bodies" gets 4.5, rounded up to 5 stars. (Slow read group experience:  a definite 5!)   

This was Book #22 read to date in 2024 (and Book #2 finished in July), bringing me to 49%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 1 book behind schedule to meet my goal. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."