Thomas Cromwell
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Review
Anyone who sees history as boring should be given Robert Hutchinson's book post haste. Without sacrificing facts and research, he has the ability to construct and absolutely compelling narrative and, though I never thought I'd say this of a book on Thomas Cromwell, one that is impossible to put down. He is one of the few authors who keep you up till 3am. (Sue Baker THE BOOKSELLER )
Harry Reid, THE HERALD
'a rollicking good read'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 100 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Thomas Cromwell is one of the most important men in both the history of politics and Christianity in this country, and the subject of this year's Booker Prize winning novel, Wolf Hall. I enjoyed this biography but was also irritated by it! While this is a detailed and colourful account of Cromwell's life, with a wealth of quotes from source material, it presents a seriously misguided view of the man. By failing to appreciate how important Cromwell's Christian faith was in making Cromwell who he was, he woefully misunderstands events using a liberal 21st century lens to distort the religious controversy of the day. For example, to describe William Tyndale's opposition of Henry VIII's divorce of Catherine of Aragon as "pompous and priggish" is ridiculous. A detailed examination of Cromwell's relationship with Cranmer and leading reformers is lacking and would have led to an altogether different conclusion. Moreover, to conclude as Hutchinson does that "No doubt Thomas Cromwell would have felt comfortable in the government of a twentieth-century totalitarian state" is extraordinary in the light of the testimony of Cromwell's final days in the previous chapter. It is always a mistake to judge people of a different age by the transient morality of the present day. Hutchinson does that and the fascinating narrative he provides us with is therefore let down at each turn by the conclusions he reaches. By all means read this book - it is certainly entertaining. However read Wolf Hall and John Scofield's biography of Cromwell published last year for a more accurate picture of what Cromwell was like as a man.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Interesting to read more about the man in the background during this incredible period of English history, but found the author's style, to be honest, quite smug. Also, too many 'maybe's, 'probably's and what people were thinking etc. I enjoyed it but some of it irritated me!
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read a lot about Thomas Cromwell, I've formed my own opinions and I'm aware that other people won't necessarily share them, For me, Cromwell is without a doubt the marmite of historical figures and you either like him or you hate him, you're entitled to that opionion but; you're not writing this book and, if you were, maybe you'd give people a chance to make up their own minds by presenting the facts in an unbiased fashion. Hutchinson hasn't done that, he's obviously enthralled by his subject, aren't we all, but he takes a lot of liberties throughout this text. We will only ever know what Cromwell did, we will never know what he was thinking, or how he was feeling, when he did it. There's no doubt Cromwell was a master politician; violent, greedy, avaricious, wonderfully cunning and seemingly possessed of no conscience, he was the perfect support act for that giant of a monarch Henry VIII and Hutchinson presents him in this way, but there's too much assumption. I'm probably the only person in the Country who loathed Wolf Hall because of it's feeble attempts to get inside the mind of this man, Hutchinson has had a better stab at it but; although this is a decent book and it does recount a lot of historical fact accurately, it just misses the beat for me and relies too heavily on how Hutchinson believes Cromwell would have been, rather than on the facts.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent, readable biography
In giving this volume five stars, I'm assuming the author hasn't misled me, and that what he's written in this book is properly researched, verified, backed up by documentation,... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Lally
Biased but readable
A tale very well told. Highly readable, gripping even, as Hutchinson describes Cromwell's rise from humble origins, his time in power, and his fall. Read more
Published 16 months ago by R Powell
Vanitas vanitatis
The atmosphere of Henry VIII's treacherous court is superbly evoked in this thrilling account. It is perhaps more a rich narrative about certain aspects of the reign than a... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Christine Arabella
Somewhat disappointing
I bought this book with a view to gaining a bit of an insight into 'Henry's most notorious minister' but sadly I felt a bit shortchanged. Read more
Published on 12 May 2010 by Rumplestaleskin
disappointing
Full of personal colour reflecting the author's perspective as a 21st century 'liberal', this books fails utterly to place Cromwell's actions and methods in the context of Tudor... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2009 by DC Nicoll
The power behind the throne
I read this after watching the latest series of "The Tudors" on BBC as I wanted to know more about Thomas Cromwell whose fall from power was quite spectacular. Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by David Canning
Generally well written
A well paced and generally well written biography, though the author has a tendency to write in a slightly sensationalist style on occasion. Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2009 by John Hopper
Most Notorious Minister
Cromwell is mentioned by other authors - historians (e.g.Ackroyd, Fraser), thologians (e.g.Duffy) and intellectuals (e.g.Belloc) but always on the edge of another picture. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2008 by Mrs. RM KLEPPMANN
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