Mantel famously uses a slippery third-person perspective (often “he” for Cromwell, even when other characters speak). This blurs the line between objective history and personal interpretation.
| Historical Figure | Traditional View | Mantel’s Portrayal | |------------------|------------------|---------------------| | Thomas Cromwell | Corrupt, scheming, brutal | Loyal, grieving, self-made, humane but pragmatic | | Thomas More | Saintly, principled | Fanatical, cruel to heretics, rigid | | Anne Boleyn | Victim or seductress | Sharp, desperate, ultimately tragic but not innocent | hilary mantel wolf hall series
The Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel: A Literary and Historical Analysis brutal | Loyal