When it was expedient, Harry was forced to deny the contract under oath. A second option involves Harry Percy, whom Anne was contracted to marry years before. The most personally sordid involves Henry’s former relationship with Anne’s sister Mary, but that implicates the King in wrongdoing. In the case of Anne, Henry has a few possible justifications to annul the marriage which Master Secretary Cromwell might use to advantage. Katherine had claimed she never consummated that marriage before Arthur died, but Henry’s need for a new marriage and a legitimate male heir overturned that claim. In the case of Katherine, Henry broke with the church of Rome in order to achieve his end, and had his marriage annulled on the basis that Anne had been married to Henry’s brother, Arthur. Ironically, Anne, Henry’s current wife, must be supplanted for this to happen, as she previously supplanted Henry’s first wife, Katherine.

While he is enamoured of Jane, she is of little use to Henry unless he can marry her legitimately.

Meanwhile, Jane’s family watch, excited by the prospects of Jane becoming a favoured mistress of the king.īut Jane’s fate is to become Henry’s third wife. He spends time with her during his visit and seeks her approval. Henry’s eye strays to the young and innocent Jane Seymour. But the novel is primarily concerned with the trajectory of events that lead to Anne’s demise.īring Up the Bodies begins with Henry’s visit to Wolf Hall which is anticipated in the closing scenes of the previous book. There remain glimpses of the wider political implications of Henry and Anne’s marriage and their failure to produce a male heir, along with the external pressures from Europe, hoping to encourage Henry to rid himself of the concubine and returning to the fold of the Catholic Church. Bring Up the Bodies is a more focussed piece of writing, though focussed on the key drama of the fall of Anne Boleyn and the men accused of being her lovers. I reread Bring Up the Bodies as part of the Booker Prize Project for this site, as well as in anticipation of the release of the third book in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Series next month, The Mirror and the Light.īring Up the Bodies maintains all the ingredients of Wolf Hall which made it so compelling: the subtle, powerful writing, Court intrigue, insight into Cromwell’s character as well as the atmosphere of sixteenth century England.

Bring up the bodies