His-Stories: Uncovering the Stronghold of the Shadows in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall

The Tudor Dynasty has been the locus of many critical and fictional narratives even in the present age. The need for looking deep into the past to uncover truths previously left within the shadows of the pages of history makes fiction one of the most sought after genres to recreate and renarrate from new vantage points, the stories in newer lights. Postmodern fiction is one such genre wherein authors like Hilary Mantel, Philippa Gregory, Alison Weir, Tracy Borman and others employ their figments of imagination to narrate the past and make it acceptable for the readers of the present. In case of Hilary Mantel, her Cromwell trilogy leans onto the genre of meta-fiction, wherein elements of both history and fiction are merged in order to challenge the traditional stronghold that history as a concept occupied. The first book from her trilogy, Wolf Hall (2009) is a narrative retelling of the start of the reformation from the point of view of Thomas Cromwell, a minister who has risen to power through his abilities and cunning. Thomas Cromwell becomes the centre in the novel, with emphasis on his experiences within Henry VIII’s court and giving away a side of the story which is not biased or rather royalist in its tendencies. The aim of the paper is to discuss the ample possibilities that the merging of fiction and history hold in uncovering myriad points of view in understanding the developments of the past/history. The “little narratives” dismantling the established grand narratives recorded in history will be the primary line on which the paper will align. The notion of history being a genre that has elements of fiction within its many pages is again highlighted by how manipulation becomes a trope in many instances within historical records. Keywords: history, fiction, tudors, shadows, narratives