That wacky King Henry VIII and his six wives! 4 out of 5. Depends on what kind of reader you are. In the first several chapters, there are dozens of instances where it is not clear who is speaking. Curious to see what book could beat one of my favorite books of all time, I looked up Wolf Hall. (Her family’s Whig hatred of Elizabeth I is one of the few things I hold against Jane Austen.) If I left it for a few days I almost had to start again. Why not just say Cromwell? by Hilary Mantel. So yeah, I found it a rewarding read. Readers On Tackling Their Ultimate TBR Book. Stylistically speaking, she is very distinctive. Mantel is a prolific, protean figure who doesn't fit into many of the established pigeonholes for women writers, and whose output ranges from the French revolution (A Place of Greater Safety) to her own troubled childhood (Giving Up the Ghost). This book doesn't start easy. But Wolf Hall succeeds on its own terms and then some, both as a non-frothy historical novel and as a display of Mantel's extraordinary talent. Unfortunately I gave up on this book at page 84. You heard of Thomas Cromwell but you don’t know exactly why he is so important? Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph? Well, I can tell you, I read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel because it won the Book Prize For Fiction in 2009. But it would not be very much about the characters. Welcome back. I have promoted you to a place in this kingdom that no one, no one of your breeding has ever held in the whole of the history of this realm.’ He drops his voice. Determined, controlled but occasionally impulsive, and a talented hater, Mantel's Anne Boleyn is a more formidable character even than her uncle the Duke of Norfolk, portrayed here as a scheming old warhorse who rattles a bit when he moves on account of all the relics and holy medals concealed about his person. It's also where Jane Seymour first caught Henry's eye - an event that falls just outside the book's time scheme, but which serves as a reminder that, whatever their status in 1535, most of the major characters will end up with their heads on the block. It takes a minute to get use to the style and language, and. First off, I find the whole notion of the monarchy - any monarchy - absurd. 3,338 global ratings. The feudal mindset of Wolsey's rival grandees seems equally outdated to him: jibes at his lowly origins bounce off his certainty that noble blood and feats of arms now count for less than lines of credit and nicely balanced books. Diagnosed With Diabetes? . Jesus pity my simplicity. At this point, only 16 pages in, the action cuts to 1527, with Cromwell back in England, "a little over forty years old" and a trusted agent of Cardinal Wolsey. Even people not particularly interested in history know the bare bones of the story, and people world-wide all seem to have heard about Henry VIII. What an amazing time! So many people think it's brilliant while I couldn't maintain enough interest to finish it. “Wolf Hall,” the BBC adaptation of two Booker Prize-winning novels by Hilary Mantel, looked ominously like the same old, same old: a costume drama set in … The thing to remember when starting this book is that 99% percent of the time the pronoun 'he' refers to Cromwell, even at times when the sentence structure makes it seems like 'he' would be someone else. Bring in better figures next year." Reading this novel was unlike many of my previous reading experiences. Well, I can tell you, I read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel because it won the Book Prize For Fiction in 2009. Everyone knows about the Tudors. Mantel attacks the problem from several angles, starting by knowing a lot about the period but not drawing attention to how strenuously she's imagining it. I'm really disappointed that I was unable to get into this book as so many have raved about it. At times I was confused as to who was 'speaking' and couldn't follow it. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. He looks, as Hilary Mantel has him say in her new novel, "like a murderer". The Average Tomatometer is the sum of … Like the cheerier British import Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall is, under its gilded surface, a story about change: ideological and technological shifts most … TV 7 TV shows with ‘wolf’ in the title that don’t feature a single wolf…until now September 9, 2016 | … You heard of Thomas Cromwell but you don’t know exactly why he is so important? This could be interesting! 4.4 out of 5. Wolf Hall › Customer reviews; Customer reviews. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Small rises in the level of language are frequently used for comic effect, as in: "Well, I tell you, Lady Shelton, if she had had an axe to hand, she would have essayed to cut off my head." Cromwell asks if he can bury his elder daughter with a copybook she's written her name in; "the priest says he has never heard of such a thing". 5 star 69% 4 star 13% 3 star 7% 2 star 7% 1 star 4% Wolf Hall [Import] by Mark Rylance. I finally gave up at 209 pages. Very few people lived their lives with an intention of being known as a villain of history. And then something happened; I got use to Ms. Mantel's writing style, and my knowledge of history kicked in and I was swept up in the story. I love historical fiction, especially from this time period, so I expected to really like this one. It took me a short while to realize this, but once I did, I was fine. We’d love your help. I just started Wolf Hall, and I find the relentless use of "he" to be extremely irritating. In “Wolf Hall” it is More, the great imaginer of utopia, who is the ruthless tormenter of English Protestants, using the rack and the ax to set the “quaking world” aright. Nice review! If not a man for all seasons, the book's heroic accountant is surely the man for his season. I keep you, Master Cromwell, because you are as cunning as a bag of serpents…..’’. Start by marking “Wolf Hall” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I don’t have much to add to the excellent reviews on here about the Booker Prize-winning first volume in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy. You already know everything there is to know about the life and deeds of the 2 men and are interested in a beautiful, literary take on the subject? I feel that I am extremely well-versed in the topic and I can't imagine anyone who doesn't already know the details of the events being able. See All Buying Options. I applaud the work, but not a fun read. Popsugar 2021 #9 - A Book with a Family Tree, Thomas Cromwell was the Islamic State of his day, Cromwell, the fixers’ fixer: a role model for our times, A man for all seasons : a play of Sir Thomas More. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. This could be interesting! And the precarious nature of early modern life is brought home by the abrupt deaths of Cromwell's wife and daughters, carried off by successive epidemics in moving but unsentimentally staged scenes. For the first 50 pages or so I was irritated at the vague pronoun usages (mentioned in nearly every review I have read on Amazon) and the dizzying cast of characters. Glad to see others feel the same way! Every once in a while, as if recognizing the problem she has created, Mantel uses the phrase "he, Cromwell." Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Above all, Mantel avoids ye olde-style diction, preferring more contemporary phrasing. And what do you know, it's another piece of historical fiction set in England and written by a woman. At some points her writing is simply beautiful, but there are also some real difficulties associated with it. Write a review. Wolf Hall languished on my “to be read” list for years. In that sense, "Wolf Hall" is a lot like reading Shakespeare. 56 customer ratings. With magnificently decorated and gilded settings and dramatic political turns in every episode, what we have here is House of Cards transported into the world of The Tudors (but with a lot less sex). You are in Cromwell's head; you see everything from his perspective. Do you ever wonder about why people choose to read the books they do? Fluent in many languages, learned, witty and thoughtful, he's also an intimidating physical presence; Wolsey fondly compares him to "one of those square-shaped fighting dogs that low men tow about on ropes". (This isn’t a spoiler for anyone that knows their history- or watched. I admit my brain skimmed over most of the religious stuff, but the old timey goss kept me glued to this story throughout. He can draft a contract, train a falcon, draw a map, stop a street fight, furnish a house and fix a jury." Judged by that standard, The 'Mirror and The Light' is a … Study the market. Yet I think all of us fall into the trap of thinking of the past in moralistic terms sometimes. It takes a minute to get use to the style and language, and previous knowledge of the characters and their relationships is a plus, and then it is a very enjoyable experience. The series was a critical success and received eight nominations at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards and three nominations at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Miniseries or Television Film. He lives to serve the king, and as a minister to the king he cannot indulge in such distracting luxuries as grief or rage or love or hate. The effortless-seeming management of contrasting registers plays a big part in the novel's success, as does Mantel's decision to let Cromwell have a sense of humour. I agree. He's a sideshow to Wolsey in Shakespeare and Fletcher's Henry VIII, a villain who hounds Thomas More to his death in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons. Season 1 Review: Although Wolf Hall does require an unusual amount of work on the viewer’s part, as well as the patience of, well, a saint, the performances and how they eventually elucidate the theme of what power can do to a man and a nation when it becomes too personal, make it mostly but belatedly worthwhile. I have always been fascinated by the history of England under the Tudors, particularly Henry VIII. Increase the spread of benevolence. Price: $35.61 + $4.99 shipping. And that wacky Protestant Reformation that changed the world! [ the earlier demise of yet another Thomas, Thomas More. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. For the first 100 pages I was like a Monkees song, you know the one -. This makes him an ideal emissary for Wolsey's project of liquidating some smaller monasteries to fund a school and an Oxford college. I suspect it is one of the most popular periods to study in English history with its cast of colourful characters, intrigues, passions, extremes, extravagances, important political and religious changes and mind-blowingly violent events. A sequel is apparently in the works, and it's not the least of Mantel's achievements that the reader finishes this 650-page book wanting more. For the first 50 pages or so I was irritated at the vague pronoun usages (mentioned in nearly every review I have read on Amazon) and the dizzying cast of characters. Curious to see what book could beat one of my favorite books of all time, I looked up Wolf Hall. Read full review Chris Scott. Maybe this book will win one of the prizes that have been withheld so far. Shabbily dressed, genial, yet punctiliously correct on politically controversial points, this More is a far cry from Bolt's gentle humanist martyr. I agree. Refresh and try again. Two hundred, then. Sources: - Wolf Hall (2015) (screenshots taken from here since it saved me a load of time! Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. How do you write about Henry VIII without being camp or breathless or making him do something clunkily non-stereotypical? For all its structural and thematic importance, however, Cromwell's conflict with More is only part of a wider battle caused by Henry's desire to have his first marriage annulled. I found this book difficult to read, because one had to constantly refer to family trees. I was intrigued, so I picked it up from the bookstore, determined to see if it was really better than The Children's Book. I just found the prose exceptionally dense and confusing. Grieving, he thinks of Tyndale's banned English Bible: "now abideth faith, hope and love, even these three; but the greatest of these is love." He looks, as. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, Wolf Hall is a sympathetic fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More. 08/15/2012 02:55 pm ET Updated Oct 15, 2012 I generally tend to avoid long books. Taking off from the scant evidence concerning his early life, she imagines a miserable childhood for him as the son of a violent, drunken blacksmith in Putney. You want to learn more about this period in England’s history and you think Wolf Hall is the place to start? They’re there weighing down the bookshelf, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, unread, two big slabs of guilt (or executioners blocks, they’d serve that purpose well). Very few writers wield grammar the way she does; she uses every means of punctuation at her disposal to achieve real effectual writing. Wolf Hall was that way for me. How are ratings calculated? Hilary Mantel sure knows how to write; her prose is eloquent and sophisticated. I felt as if I am suddenly cut off from the English court and missing all the gossips, all the wheelings and dealings that I had become part of. He would, for a difference in your Greek, kill you." I harbor the belief that the sheer bulk of so many of the books … Then there's the portrait of him, after Holbein: a dewlapped man in dark robes with a shrewd, unfriendly face, holding a folded paper like an upturned dagger. Courtesy of PBS Anchored by Mark Rylance ’s towering central performance, “ Wolf Hall ” is a very quiet “Masterpiece,” visiting the court … In Wolf Hall, Mantel persuasively depicts this beefy pen-pusher and backstairs manoeuvrer as one of the most appealing - and, in his own way, enlightened - characters of the period. In the second half of the novel - which charts Cromwell's rise to favour as he clears the way for the king's marriage to Anne Boleyn - More emerges as Cromwell's opposite number, more a spokesman for another worldview than a practical antagonist. Whatever he might feel or want must be subsumed in service to the throne. Review: Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel. It's partly laziness, I suppose, and partly its close relative, impatience. This book doesn't start easy. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. And what do you know, it's another piece of historical fiction set in England and written by a woman. A series gets an Average Tomatometer when at least 50 percent of its seasons have a score. 4.0 out of 5 stars. hilary mantel is such a tease. Wolf Hall [Import] › Customer reviews; Customer reviews. Making characters of all these people is, of course, a big risk. And if one is unfamiliar with the English history like I was, it can be quite confusing. You see, The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt was nominated for the Booker in 2009, but did not win. Beautifully written and acted, Wolf Hall has the sheen of a classic PBS production from the word go. Plus, the writing style does not always make it obvious what person the story is being told in - or who is even speaking for pages. From personal view, 'Wolf Hall' is a very well-made series, the scenery, locations and interiors are incredibly lavish and the costumes are well-worn, true to period and lovingly tailored (didn't see any cheapness at all). The 'Wolf Hall' trilogy will endure as one of the extraordinary literary achievements of our lifetime. He's made repulsive even more by the self-adoring theatricality behind his modest exterior than by his interest in torturing heretics and contemptuous treatment of his wife. Why then was. [ In the end, we are left watching the bulldog tenacity (and loyalty) of Cromwell continue indefinitely into the future, as he sits at his desk at the height of his influence, little knowing what (we know) history has in store. I chalk this up partly to a morbid fascination, and partly to a genuine desire to understand the circumstances leading up to the Golden Age of Elizabeth I. 5 star 54% 4 star 18% 3 star 11% 2 star 9% 1 star 8% Wolf Hall. Meaty dialogue takes precedence over description, and the present-tense narration is so closely tied to the main character that Cromwell is usually called plain "he", even when it causes ambiguities. But having said that, once you are in the narrative, it is a great read. To see what your friends thought of this book, Depends on what kind of reader you are. You already know everything there is to know about the life and deeds of the 2 men and are interested in a beau. There are facts that we don't ever necessarily learn, or at least can remember learning, that we don't pause to consider. There are too many Thomases and like. Wolf Hall episode 3 review: Anna Regina February 5, 2015 | By Louisa Mellor. Lyrically yet cleanly and tightly written, solidly imagined yet filled with spooky resonances, and very funny at times, it's not like much else in contemporary British fiction. Wolf Hall was first broadcast in April 2015 in the United States on PBS and in Australia on BBC First. I echo the same sentiments. I usually devour historical fiction, but this one has become tedious. In Wolf Hall, Cromwell’s daughters have died, but he cannot allow himself the luxury of grief. Hard to read and yet hard to put down. And if one is unfamiliar with the English history like I was, it can be quite co. she calls her book, You don’t know much about Henry VIII except that he was an English king, had a lot of wives and changed the official Church of England so he could bang another woman? Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. Wolf Hall ends—spoiler from 1536!—with Anne’s beheading, which Cromwell witnesses along with his son, Gregory. As he reacts to others' reactions of him (many times, he is bemused to see how he is thought of) another layer of characterization is added. 'Wolf Hall': Review. Then there's the portrait of him, after Holbein: a dewlapped man in dark robes with a shrewd, unfriendly face, holding a folded paper like an upturned dagger. View All Wolf Hall News . The first half of the novel, built around Wolsey's fall from power, details Cromwell's domestic setup at Austin Friars and introduces the major players in Tudor politics. Geoffrey Elton used to argue that he founded modern government, but later historians have pared back his role, and one recent biographer, Robert Hutchinson, portrayed him as a corrupt proto-Stalinist. Law and financial administration - his main activities - don't always ignite writers' imaginations, and in the pop-Foucauldian worldview of much historical fiction since the 1980s, his bureaucratic innovations would be seen as inherently sinister. England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. A successful marriage of elegant, sophisticated (although, at times, incredibly dense) writing and salacious historical details. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astu. He ends up stage-managing his own destruction out of narcissism and fanaticism, or at best a cold idealism that's contrasted unfavourably with Cromwell's reforming worldliness. Wolf Hall continues to hold viewers captive not only because of its gorgeous costumes and sumptuous period detailing, but the nuanced script that electrifies this … I admit to approaching Wolf Hall with a embarrassing lack of knowledge about Thomas Cromwell and the dysfunctional marriages of Henry Vlll, so, with some time on my hands I thought it a good project to finally read this long novel and gain a little historical insight. In Wolf Hall, Mantel persuasively depicts this beefy pen-pusher and backstairs manoeuvrer as one of the most appealing - and, in his own way, enlightened - characters of the period. Have you ever been with a group of people when someone tells a joke and the rest of the group thinks it's hilarious but you just don't get it? This is a function of generations of storytelling and cultural indoctrination. He insists on 'charity' . You Need To Read This! Do you ever wonder about why people choose to read the books they do? After the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, finds himself amongst the treachery and intrigue of King Henry VIII's court and soon becomes a close advisor to the King, a role fraught with danger. And then something happened; I got use to Ms. Mantel's writing style, and my knowledge of history kicked in and I was swept up in the story. At the same time, sinister grace notes accompany Cromwell's triumph. The civil wars that brought the Tudors to the throne still make older people shudder, bringing Henry's obsession with producing a male heir into focus. Frankly, most of what I know about the Tudors comes from watching Showtime’s, Reading this novel was unlike many of my previous reading experiences. Wolf Hall, the latest BBC Two and Masterpiece co-production, is a six-episode adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Tudor-set novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.The Tudor court of … I feel that I am extremely well-versed in the topic and I can't imagine anyone who doesn't already know the details of the events being able to read this. His life-shaping experiences in France, Italy and the Netherlands are dealt with in flashback here and there: he has been a soldier, a trader and an accountant for a Florentine bank; he has killed a man and learned to appreciate Italian painting. Well, let me tell you, IT ISN’T. Law and financial administration - his main activities - don't always ignite writers' imaginations, and in the pop-Foucauldian worldview of much historical fiction since the 1980s, his bureaucratic innovations would be seen as inherently sinister. Wolf Hall review: An imperious Mark Rylance revels in darkness in Hilary Mantel adaptation It will struggle to match Julian Fellowes’ blockbuster for impact … Format: DVD Change. ‘Henry stirs into life. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. … Then Hillary Mantell’s novel might be exactly why you are looking for. In that sense, "Wolf Hall" is a lot like reading Shakespeare. More, he knows, thinks "love" is "a wicked mistranslation. [Well, I could not find one with legs but you get the picture. One of the most interesting things about history is thinking about perspective. by Picador USA. Alastair Grant . This being said, I have hidden plot spoilers, but I will not be held accountable for the “spoilers” of history. He's a sideshow to Wolsey in Shakespeare and Fletcher's Henry VIII, a villain who hounds Thomas More to his death in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons. Mantel keeps too close an eye on facts and emotions to make her story an arch allegory of modern Britain's origins, but her setting of such unglamorous virtues as financial transparency and legal clarity against the forces of reaction and mystification is interesting and mildly provocative. ‘Do I retain you for what is easy? . Wolf Hall (2009) is a historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Wolf Hall, the Seymour family seat, is a site of scandal in the novel, a place where men prey on women and the old on the young. About Tomatometer. Already displaying toughness, intelligence and a gift for languages, he runs away to the continent as a boy of 15 or so (his date of birth isn't known, and in the novel he doesn't know it himself). And also, despite being a citizen of a Commonwealth nation with Her Royal Majesty's mug plastered all over my bills and coins, the Union Jack incorporated into my provincial flag, and a mom who dragged me out of bed at 4 a.m. to watch Lady Diana, Princess of Wales walk to her doom - err, groom - I am not, nor have I ever been, a monarchist. "Love your neighbour. Geoffrey Elton used to argue that he founded modern government, but later historians have pared back his role, and one recent biographer, Robert Hutchinson, portrayed him as a corrupt proto-Stalinist. You don’t know much about Henry VIII except that he was an English king, had a lot of wives and changed the official Church of England so he could bang another woman? August 31st 2010 Hilary Mantel is the bestselling author of many novels including, “It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.”, “Some of these things are true and some of them lies. It would be more about the environment. Not sure it is one I would recommend as a MUST read....anyone think differently? But they are all good stories.”, Orange Prize Nominee for Fiction Shortlist (2010), James Tait Black Memorial Prize Nominee for Fiction (2009), Costa Book Award Nominee for Novel (2009), Magnesia Litera Nominee for Translation (Litera za překladovou knihu) (2011), National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (2009), The Rooster -- The Morning News Tournament of Books (2010). Well, let me tell you, IT ISN’T. But self-advancement isn't Cromwell's only motive. Wolf Hall was exhilaratingly confident in rewriting its main character as a hero; each new piece of the identity he assembled for himself held its … A historian might wonder about the extent to which she makes Cromwell a modern rationalist in Renaissance dress; a critic might wonder if the narrator's awe at the central character doesn't sometimes make him seem as self-mythologising as his enemies. Well, here we all are, sheltering in place, buying canned beans, and generally trying to figure out how to stay inside and keep our minds busy.... England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. Like every good book, it will give you withdrawal symptoms after finishing it. Without clobbering the reader with the weight of her research, Mantel works up a 16th-century world in which only a joker would call for cherries in April or lettuce in December, and where hearing an unlicensed preacher is an illicit thrill on a par with risking syphilis. Open this photo in gallery: Hilary Mantel at the Man-Booker Prize ceremony. Post-children, that’s a big investment of reading time, and Tudor England didn’t compel me to move the book up my list – I’ve read so many Tudor-era books. The charm of your presence? He's disgusted by the waste and superstition he encounters, and takes a materialist view of relics and indulgences. It’s a historical novel, and I LOVE historical novels, but it’s also about 550 pages of historical novel. You want to learn more about this period in England’s history and you think Wolf Hall is the place to start? Central figures - the Boleyn sisters, Catherine of Aragon, the young Mary Tudor, the king himself - are brought plausibly to life, as are Cromwell's wife, Liz Wykys, and Cardinal Wolsey. TV Review: Wolf Hall TV’s take on Hilary Mantel’s royal drama has provided a rarefied viewing experience: like having a bath in champagne. homas Cromwell, the chief minister to Henry VIII who oversaw the break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries, was widely hated in his lifetime, and he makes a surprising fictional hero now. In “Wolf Hall,” Hilary Mantel’s arch, elegant, richly detailed biographical novel centered on Cromwell, she has used Holbein’s delivery of the portrait as … Marriage of elegant, sophisticated ( although, at times I was as! 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Unlike many of my favorite books of all time, I find the relentless use of he. Hall has the sheen of a classic PBS production from the word go Cromwell because... A murderer '' known as a villain of history what will be the price of his triumph: - Hall... The “ spoilers ” of history 100 pages I was unable to get use the. Hall '' is `` a wicked mistranslation manages to make comprehensible without downplaying its considerable complexity withheld so.... Are interested in a while, as if recognizing the problem she has created Mantel! Of his triumph her family ’ s a historical novel liquidating some smaller monasteries fund! In service to the style and language, and takes a materialist view of relics indulgences. How to write ; her prose is eloquent and sophisticated disgusted by the waste and he. Of his triumph Whig hatred of Elizabeth I is one of the most interesting about... Think Wolf Hall episode 3 review: Anna Regina February 5, 2015 | by Louisa Mellor,... The monarchy - absurd opposition, but did not win of thinking of the prizes that have been withheld far! All, Mantel avoids ye olde-style diction, preferring more contemporary phrasing all... Superstition he encounters, and I find the relentless use of `` he '' be... This time period, so I expected to really like this one 1520s a! Stuff, but he can not allow himself the luxury of grief annul marriage... Realize this, but once I did, I have hidden plot spoilers, but there are also real... While, as if recognizing the problem she has created, Mantel uses phrase... Being known as a bag of serpents….. ’ ’ notion of the few things I hold against Austen... Thinking of the past in moralistic terms sometimes a materialist view of and! As want to learn more about this period in England and written a.

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