A Complex Masterpiece.

This book won the Booker Prize; which should indicate serveral things to the potential listener, as will the long play time. This book will require time and some effort to fully appreciate. It is not a thriller or historical romance in the usual sense. I personally found this reading utterly gripping and wonderful; the reader is just to my taste; young enough for the character, dynamic, intelligent, funny and well rehearsed. Historically you may find it useful to know something about this era of English history, but the book could have been written about the Blair Government and still have the same core power, tension and driving pace. The historical context is important but not the only thing this book is about.
Giving it less than 5 stars as other reviewers have is being hyper critical, when so many books on this site have 5 stars that are less deserving. My Audible Library is mostly filled with thrillers and crime fiction, but this is in a different class; not better than some of them, just different. Like comparing the best Parma Ham with a cheese burger, both great in their own way, but different!

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Magnificent.

The whole period brought to life and stimulating further historical research. Simon Slater was brilliant.

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Excellent and engaging

The narration was perfect I feel like returning to the beginning and listening to it again.

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totally amazing

loved this. would never have read the book, but having enjoyed the TV adaptation I thought I would listen to this. in five seconds I will be listening to bringing up to the bodies.

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Absorbing

I feel as though I have visited the 16th century. Evocative, plausible, thought-provoking. Cromwell's world-weariness and cynicism accurately portrayed in the tone of the reader. A reading to keep and dip into.

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gripping

Totally convincing both in writing and in narration. Although a long book, it never drags, and draws the listener in to the world and the events it describes. It reveals an England totally foreign to a modern reader, and yet easily accessible through the careful balance of description and narrative.

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Misleading title

Struggled to stick with this as narrative often turns from Cromwell at some of the most crucial parts. Main bone of contention is with the title though as you'd have thought that the focus would have been more on Jane Seymour and her family, whose home was Wolf Hall, however the story focuses more on the history around King Henry's first two Wives. Anne Boleyn in particular. Whilst the history of that time is fascinating it portrayed better through TV shows such as The Tudors.

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Fantastic narration of a modern classic

Simon Shaw's fantastic reading made Mantel's brilliant but long narrative slip past on many a long car journey. Totally immersive.

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Wrong emphasis on occasions

I felt that on very many instances Simon Slater had not read ahead or rehearsed the page and therefore paused in the wrong places.

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Really excellent

I'm picky about aubible books. I don't have a television. No interest in baking, dancing 'talent' shows, gardening, politically correctly cast historical dramas, so no real use for them. But I have to pay for a licence because I listen to iplayer radio and my laptop has capacity for watching some iplayer programs, but if I think they're a load of cheap badly done tatt, I can't ask for my licence fee back. I like the fact that if you don't like book you chose, you can exchange it as easily as snapping your fingers and if anyone mis uses this fair and equitable way of treating clients, they should be drummed out of the regiment. It's very fair. It's difficult to judge a book by a sample and you simply cannot stand to listen to any book badly read. This is a keeper. One that you can listen to again and again excellently written, excellently read. I wish they could all be like this. I can't go into all characters, but Cromwell is beautifully built by Ms Mantel and our reader. It's worth it. I've read some of the books on offer, then tried them and had my heart broken at the pitiful reading, but this is lovely. Ann isn't very well portrayed though. You can't really imagine her dancing fascinating rings around a king for two seconds. Nobody's perfect

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