History Bloat

Dec 2023 / Nov 2024
Bring up the Bodies / The Mirror and the Light - Hilary Mantell – Fourth Estate, 2012 / 2020
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These continuations of the life of Thomas Cromwell begun in Wolf Hall present an interesting contrast. Bring up the Bodies is a tight sequel, twenty-five percent shorter than the original, that maintains its propulsive drive as it tells the story of Anne Boleyn's brief reign as queen and Cromwell's orchestration of her downfall. There is a closer focus on Cromwell's point of view which fixes the major stylistic issue of wavering narrative viewpoint, and the way in which realpolitik, Cromwell's subtle vengeance on his detractors, and Henry's and Annes's character flaws combine to make her end inevitable is fascinating.

By contrast, The Mirror and the Light is twenty-five percent longer than the original, which was a mistake. Cromwell starts off as the king's most trusted advisor and remains that way for the vast majority of the book, which means that events don't really affect him until right at the end. Instead we get a lot of worldbuilding, courtly politics, and threats from rivals, but because the reader already knows where this is all going, these are not compelling. It is a classic example of what I like to call fantasy author's bloat, the tendency for big name writers to produce fat, self-indulgent novels in which plot development and pacing is undermined by excessive worldbuilding (in this case, historical detail), abetted by pusillanimous editing. It's still readable, but frankly there were some longeurs.