Wolf Hall is a retelling of the story of Thomas Cromwell, adviser to Henry XVIII
It starts with the process of the king getting rid of his first wife (which takes years, and a large part of the book to accomplish) and ends with the execution of Thomas More.

Hilary Mantel is an awesome writer. This is a vivid and fascinating book. If you are not already familiar with the history of Henry XVIII, you will find it very confusing. There are many characters with similar names and the story is bizarre, to say the least.

There are many fascinating themes. The way in which royalty erodes humanity, for example. Henry is like an enormous child, not evil, but emotionally crippled. Characters like Anne Boleyn and Thomas More are portrayed with empathy, even though they are deeply flawed.

Fantastic.