Let's get the negative out of the way, because it does stand in the way of being absorbed and involved. This book is heavy. You will drop it. It will slide off your knee. It is not something you can forget about as you lug it about with you. I would have preferred it to be produced in two, if not three parts.

But then. The subject matter is heavy. Here is a man, Thomas Cromwell, whom King Henry trusts with every aspect of his life and government. It's well known that it doesn't pay to cross either man. The story is told, as ever, from wherever Cromwell happens to be: stateroom , his home, his bed. It's rich in detail which position it in its point in history: its sights, costumes, smells, manners. I veered between finding such detail stimulating and illuminating; and thinking it almost self-indulgent on Mantel's part, that the book could have benefited from an editor with some courage and a red pencil.

Nevertheless, this denseness, this enormous cast of characters, some of whom merely have walk-on parts give the tale its richness. We all know the story. We all know what happens to Henry's queens. We all know what happens to Thomas Cromwell. And still we want to turn the page. This is because each character is brought to life, with all his or her failings and strengths. We begin to understand the Machiavellian lengths that Cromwell and others were forced to go to when seeking to keep the various factions of the church, the state, the king himself, foreign royal houses and foreign diplomats on side. Always with the threat that today's favourite will be out of favour tomorrow and pay the price by being put to death.

It took me several hundred pages to get used to this rich diet. I suspect I may have missed a great deal, and that I should read it once more. But I may wait until someone has bought me a lectern. ( )

I found this book long and more than a little rambling. The descriptions in it are quite beautiful and the final chapters are mesmerizing and tie up the many elements of the story.

Once again Mantel keeps us laser-focussed on Thomas Cromwell at home, at the office, taking confessions at the Tower, and keeping an eye on the King’s daughters.

The story also shows us — and pretty directly — how awful the monarchy could to be to its managers, the bureaucrats who were creating institutions on the fly as it were when Henry VIII made the fateful decision to reject the Pope as head of the church.

Henry thought he hadn’t deviated from Catholic religion even as the Lutherans changed the ground rules.

But for Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell who followed him trying to square the King’s libido with his obsession making a male heir, changing relationships between the states of Europe, the rapid changes owing to the discovery of the New World, the invention of moveable type, the growing force of German nationalism, managing the ship of state became a game of (mostly) snakes and (few) ladders.

Henry VIII declared the Divine Right of kings to rule at a time when controlling the message was growing more difficult by the day.

It was a stillborn concept. ( )

Excellent. I did not find this third book as challenging to read as the first one; perhaps because I was ready for the narrative style, perhaps because I've matured as a reader, likely a bit of both. The size is daunting: twice the length of typical novels at 875 pages (plus a few pages of what happened to them later? historical notes), but it just pulled me a long. Some books you push through, knowing you'll get used to it, or it will get better, or you will be better for having read it. This one compelled me to keep reading. It even crept into my sleep and I would dream I was reading it. I love how the overall keel of the book is so steady, so sure. You know how it will end (if you have any knowledge of Tudor history) but it never races towards the end, it never bogs down in historical explanations or descriptions. Never drags it feet. It just keeps moving forward at that steady, even pace. There is great witty dialogue interspersed -- or perhaps more accurately a line or two every so often. The characters of Cromwell's entourage are likable. Even and especially Cromwell is a likable character, which is excellent because most of the historical fiction for that time period casts him as the bad guy. Henry is characterized so well, just as the king should be in a way to admire and frustrate. I appreciated the days in the Tower, too, and Cromwell's reflections on his life.

So much more to admire: the way the narrative sets the minor characters up for their future events, how Cromwell's past visits, follows, and speaks to him through memories, ghosts, and reflections. The plot steps and how it moves forward subtly but effectively to keep the story moving ahead. And the motifs of mirror and light, how th references flit in and out of the story without contrivance.

Even if you've not read the first two in the series, you can enjoy this one. If you like Tudor history and literary historical fiction. Just be ready for sore hands from holding such a thick heavy book. ( )

And so, the tapestry is done. It moves and shines, almost coming alive.
This is a brilliant conclusion to a trilogy that made me fall in love with historical fiction all over again (and probably made me more demanding).
I love the writing. I loved the way the novel moved between past and present.
The amount of research that Hilary Mantel must have put in is staggering.
I loved how fact and fiction blended together, making the characters and 16th century England leap off the page, while you, the reader, find yourself thinking "now I know what REALLY happened". That illusion only begins to dispel once you are done with the book... and you long to go back in. ( )

I hit a bit of Cromwell fatigue with this one. ( )