Mantel’s use of present tense adds to this feeling of fear and danger. ‘Your whole life depends on the next beat of Henry’s heart, and your future on his smile or frown.’
One thing that I love about this story is that right from the start it developed the ominous feeling that everyone’s life is hanging in the balance. This final installment picks up after the execution of Anne Boleyn, and follows Cromwell’s journey as Henry VIIIs advisor right up until the very end, when Cromwell falls out of favour and faces his own execution. I’d definitely suggest reading both Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies first before reading The Mirror & The Light. The story itself is the final part in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy, which follows the life of Thomas Cromwell. I’ve read The Mirror & The Light far more slowly than I would in normal circumstances, but it doesn’t mean it’s not a great book. Reading can be a great way to clear the mental clutter and distract yourself during times of stress it’s important, I think, to have somewhere to escape to, even if just for ten minutes. Less than a month later and everything has changed we are in the midst of a global pandemic, theatres are closed, only essential travel is allowed. On the day my copy of The Mirror & The Light was delivered, I spent the evening at the theatre (watching an amazing performance of Macbeth). I don’t think it can be very often that you begin a book while living in one kind of world, and finish it in another.
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