Play Audiobook Sample
Wolf Hall: A Novel Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(4.38) - 26 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII's court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political power England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. The quest for the king's freedom destroys his adviser, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey, and leaves a power vacuum. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell is a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people and a demon of energy: he is also a consummate politician, hardened by his personal losses, implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel presents a picture of a half-made society on the cusp of change, where individuals fight or embrace their fate with passion and courage. With a vast array of characters, overflowing with incident, the novel re-creates an era when the personal and political are separated by a hairbreadth, where success brings unlimited power but a single failure means death.
Download and start listening now!
"An intricate portrait of Thomas Cromwell and other figureheads of import during Henry VIII's reign with focus on Anne Boleyn, the Boleyn family, and surrounding other nobles. A great insight into Thomas More's true role and approach, as well as Cardinal Wolsey. "
— Shirley (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“The 2009 Man Booker Prize-winning novel about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's fixer and counselor has been brilliantly served by English actor (and composer) Simon Slater. He gives an ironic, Machiavellian edge to his voice as general narrator and renders the myriad characters with exceptional virtuosity. This performance is the best of the year: an absolute triumph, further enhancing an already magnificent novel.
— The Washington Post, Top Audio Books of '09 -
Set aside a full day to savor Simon Slater's delightful reading of the Booker Prize-winning tale of Henry VIII's court, seen through the eyes of his adviser Thomas Cromwell…Slater's narration is nuanced and precise; he breathes feeling and subtle shades of emotion into every exchange of dialogue. His is a heroic undertaking, and he does admirable justice to Mantel's lucid prose and juicy plot.
— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review -
Slater seems to inhabit Cromwell's very soul, his voice imbued with urbane assurance, dark despair, calculating ambition, and sardonic wit. Each character rings true…Mantel's masterpiece, winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, 2009, entrances with a gripping immediacy that carries listeners to a cliff-hanger ending, leaving fans clamoring for a sequel.
— Booklist, Starred Review -
Simon Slater's inspired narration of this year's Booker Prize novel, set in the court of Henry VIII, is on every count one of this year's outstanding audiobooks.
— AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner -
Read by Simon Slater in possibly the best performance of his career, Wolf Hall...never ceases to be gripping...the best audio book of the year.
— The Winston-Salem Journal -
Simon Slater does a masterful job of capturing Mantel's abundant and diverse characters.
— Newsday -
Simon Slater's reading is equal to Mantel's masterpiece, his voice shifting to match each speaker, with touches of rough British dialect, German and French accents expertly handled.
— BookPage, Audio of the Month -
Simon Slater's performance brings Thomas Cromwell out of history and into humanity.
— FictionAudiobooks -
If you haven't read the most absorbing, beautifully written book of 2009, wait no longer. Better yet, listen to it, for you cannot imagine the 16th century coming to life as it does in the hands of author Hilary Mantel and reader Simon Slater in Wolf Hall.
— Newark Star Ledger -
Mantel gets the rich pageantry and conniving schemes just right in her richly detailed historical saga, and Slater gets Mantel just right as well. His reading does justice to the novel's language, slipping into character voices as deftly as Cromwell negotiated court politics.
— Library Journal -
Listeners unfamiliar with British history will find Slater's present-tense narration, as told through Cromwell's perspective, an ideal method of storytelling, turning formidable historical figures into intriguing personalities. Slater seems to inhabit Cromwell's very soul, his voice imbued with urbane assurance, dark despair, calculating ambition, and sardonic wit.
— Booklist, Starred Review
Awards
-
One of the 2009 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Fiction
-
A Time Magazine Top 10 Book of 2009 for Fiction
-
A New York Times bestseller
-
Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize
-
Winner of the 2010 Walter Scott Prize
-
Shortlisted for the Golden Man Booker Prize
-
A Barack Obama Reading List Pick
-
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year in Audio
-
A London Guardian Pick of Best Books of the 21st Century
-
Winner of Audie Award Winner, 2010
-
Winner of National Book Critics Circle Award - Winner, 2009
-
Walter Scott Prize Winner, 2010
-
Winner of Man Booker Award - Winner, 2009
-
Nominated for Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction - Nominee, 2010
-
Winner of Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction Winner, 2010
-
Winner of National Book Critics Circle Awards - Winner, 2009
Wolf Hall Listener Reviews
-
—
6/12/2020
-
—
6/12/2020
-
" Took me a long time to get into it. Boring at times. "
— Abranch71, 5/17/2011 -
" good story line of the Tutor family, but tough to stick to reading the entire book. "
— Leigh, 5/17/2011 -
" Took me a long time to get into it. Boring at times. "
— Abranch71, 5/17/2011 -
" good story line of the Tutor family, but tough to stick to reading the entire book. "
— Leigh, 5/17/2011 -
" Loved this book. I always remember Thomas's advice to his men when preparing for meetings with the king...Arrange your face. "
— Donna, 5/15/2011 -
" Loved this book. I always remember Thomas's advice to his men when preparing for meetings with the king...Arrange your face. "
— Donna, 5/15/2011 -
" Far and away the best of the Tudor-based novels. "
— Carolyn, 5/10/2011 -
" Far and away the best of the Tudor-based novels. "
— Carolyn, 5/10/2011 -
" Fabulous, detailed, totally immerses you in the narrative - even if you know the history! It achieves two remarkable things - firstly, it takes the reader right into the Tudor court, and secondly, once you're there, you'll be rooting for Thomas Cromwell. "
— Miranda, 5/9/2011 -
" An intricate portrait of Thomas Cromwell and other figureheads of import during Henry VIII's reign with focus on Anne Boleyn, the Boleyn family, and surrounding other nobles. A great insight into Thomas More's true role and approach, as well as Cardinal Wolsey. "
— Shirley, 5/9/2011 -
" Fabulous, detailed, totally immerses you in the narrative - even if you know the history! It achieves two remarkable things - firstly, it takes the reader right into the Tudor court, and secondly, once you're there, you'll be rooting for Thomas Cromwell. "
— Miranda, 5/9/2011
About Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel (1952-2022) was a #1 New York Times bestselling author and two-time winner of the Booker Prize for her bestselling novels, Wolf Hall, and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. The final novel of the Wolf Hall trilogy, The Mirror & the Light, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and won critical acclaim around the globe. She wrote more than a dozen books, including A Place of Greater Safety, Beyond Black, and the memoir Giving Up the Ghost.
About Simon Slater
Simon Slater is an English actor and composer. His film credits include Dealers and Entrapment. His work as a theatrical actor includes a five-year run in the musical Mamma Mia! as Sam Charmichael. Slater has made guest appearances in several television series, including Heartbeat, Birds of a Feather, Doctor Who, Inspector Morse, Lovejoy, Monarch of the Glen, and Where the Heart Is.