Wolf Hall

In a new edition, one of the most famous British novels of the new century has been released: “the best Booker Prize winner in years” (Scotsman). Moreover, the continuation of “Wolf Hall” also won the Booker—an unprecedented case in the entire history of the prize. And in March 2020, the final novel of the trilogy was finally published—“Mirror and Light.”

England, the 16th century. Henry VIII Tudor sits on the throne. If he dies without leaving an heir, a civil war will erupt. At the King’s Privy Council, Thomas Cromwell is appointed—a son of a brawling blacksmith, who managed to serve as a mercenary in the French army, work in a Florentine banking house, and absorb the ideas of Machiavellianism—former secretary of the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey. Some see Cromwell as a unscrupulous villain; others view him as a political genius. Using any means—flattery and threats, bribes and arrests—carrying out the king’s will, he sets about building a new England. In 2015, the BBC adapted both novels for television; the main roles were played by Mark Rylance (“Another Woman of the Boleyn” (“Wolf Hall”?) , “The Spy Who Loved Me”?), Damian Lewis (“Romeo and Juliet,” “Once Upon a… Hollywood”), Claire Foy (“The Crown,” “Elizabeth” etc.). The series, known in Russian as “The Wolf Hall,” was nominated for the Golden Globe in three categories (won one), BAFTA—in eight (won three), and also for the Emmy—in eight.