Hilary Mantel is the most creative manufacturer of swearing that I've read in a good long time. I mean that as positive praise. Actually, I could praise her creativity across the board and feel pretty good about doing so. Great characterization, loads of folks with distinct and well-rounded personas, lots of heart. Plenty of anxious moments.

The plot does stick on some slow parts that don't seem entirely necessary. Of course, there is a sequel that may call on some of the plodding bits of Wolf Hall, so I may have to adjust. (This is one of the reasons I stay away from series fiction, by the way.)

Draggy episodes aside, I enjoyed this quite a bit and am (grudgingly) eager to move on to the followup.