Tudor History, the City and the Marginalised in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall

Following its Man Booker Prize in 2009, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall has gained a cult status in literature and cemented her position as one of the leading contemporary novelists in Britain. The novel follows the story of Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power from an underdog to becoming the architect of Tudor politics during the reign of Henry VIII. Narrated through the perspective of Cromwell himself, Wolf Hall chronicles Cromwell’s journey from 1527 to 1535. In doing so, Mantel has speculated Tudor history and its representation in historical discourse. As the narrative travels with Cromwell, Mantel leaves her reader with multiple possibilities to question the historical image of Cromwell who has been archived as a villain for his political activities. By allowing Cromwell to take control of the narrative, Mantel shows the existing Tudor history from a marginalised point of view. Before he became a minister in the court of Henry VIII, he was a butcher’s son for which he was the subject of mockery to his contemporaries. However, the narrative of Wolf Hall does not only stop at exploring Cromwell’s personal life but also his public activities that are connected to Tudor politics and history. Following Cromwell’s association with the common people of the society, this paper aims to analyse the representation of Tudor history in the novel. Moreover, it seeks to understand the city as a major site for historical and political exploration and the contribution of the lower-class characters in the rise of Cromwell to power. Keywords: Tudor history, Cromwell, Wolf Hall, Tudor Politics, Marginalised