Preview
  • Wolf Hall

  • The Wolf Hall Trilogy, Book 1
  • By: Hilary Mantel
  • Narrated by: Ben Miles
  • Length: 25 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (43 ratings)

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Wolf Hall

By: Hilary Mantel
Narrated by: Ben Miles
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Publisher's summary

Listen to the exciting new rendition of Wolf Hall, read by Ben Miles, who was personally cast by the author and played Thomas Cromwell in the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. The winner of the Man Booker Prize and captivating first book in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy.

Winner of the Man Booker Prize.

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize.

Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award.

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk and later his successor.

Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events.

Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.

From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics.

With a vast array of character and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.

Shortlisted for the Golden Man Booker Prize.

©2009 Hilary Mantel (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd
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Critic reviews

"Dizzyingly, dazzlingly good." (Daily Mail)

"Our most brilliant English writer." (Guardian)

What listeners say about Wolf Hall

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Engrossing Exemplar

A truly fascinating presentation of this period of history full of colour and larger than life characters bring out the details to include and engross the reader, a wonderful book and a joy to read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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superb!

Characterisation was so well done, well researched, and the pacing was faultless.

Performance was absolutely masterful..

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Utter immersion!

A story told so well! Narrated in such a conversational way felt like I was in the room with the characters. Fantastic way to learn about Cromwell, Henry VIII, the Boylens, and the rest of the players.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Compelling!

I absolutely loved Ben Miles’s reading of this book. The characterisation is superb. I’ve read the book twice before listening and it’s one of my favourite books so I knew what to expect. I find the physicality of the reading enjoyable - I’m surprised by the negative comments about this. Do they want to believe that no-one ever has to swallow or clear their throat or similar? I love it.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Improvement

The novel is simply fantastic with all the characters well developed. The narrator does a good job but there should be some editing done to remove saliva noise or mouth sound. These are rather disturbing to the listener, feel like stopping listening to the title.

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