During the reign of Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell rose from a common birth to become one of the most powerful men in England. As Cardinal Thomas Wolsey's right-hand man, Cromwell learns the intricacies of the court, and begins to successfully navigate its politics. When Wolsey fails to produce the divorce the King demands and falls from Henry's favor, Cromwell's talent as a diplomat allows him to eventually rise to succeed where his former master couldn't.

Wolf Hall is brings life and drama to the politics of Tudor England. Written in present-tense episodic sections, the prose is a little jarring at first, but settles into a rhythm quickly. The tense is not distracting, and the prose sparkles (as one would expect from the Booker winner). The cast is a little confusing, but family trees and an itemized cast at the beginning help things immensely. With a lack of dialogue tags, a shortage of nouns in favor of pronouns, and a propensity for stream-of-consciousness, this is not the easiest book to read, but it's not the hardest either. And it is entirely worth the effort.