THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT by Hilary Mantel

THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT

by

Hilary Mantel

            The Mirror and the Light is the third and final installment in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. The book begins with the beheading of Anne Boleyn and covers the latter part and final years of Cromwell’s life.

Wolf Hall, the first book in the trilogy, was published in 2009, while the second book, Bring Up the Bodies, was published in 2012. It was a long wait for the 2020 arrival of the over 700 page conclusion of Mantel’s masterpiece, but it is well worth the wait. Both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies won the Man Booker Prize, and The Mirror and the Light has been longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.

            Thomas Cromwell was a very interesting man; it is incredible how the poor son of a blacksmith from Putney ended up as the rich, powerful chief minister to King Henry VIII. His life certainly provides plenty of fodder with which Mantel could work. And, Hilary Mantel is an incredible writer; The Mirror and the Light, like the prior two parts of the trilogy, is beautifully written. I knew Cromwell’s fate before beginning Mantel’s trilogy. Nonetheless, I was still on edge as Mantel led me to, and through, it.

            Mantel did a wonderful job bringing Cromwell to life. In my opinion, The Mirror and the Light deserves the Booker Prize. I highly recommend the trilogy – especially this final installment.