I am so excited to be co-hosting with Nicole from Linus's Blanket the readalong of Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, the 2009 Man Booker Prize winner! It's a beast of a read, so we thought we'd split it up into a 3-week schedule. Participants can do a progress post each week instead of answering a list of questions.
Book to Television News
The recent announcement from HBO and the BBC's collaboration to create a four-part miniseries with UK indie Company Pictures should motivate you to pick this one up of your shelf!
The recent announcement from HBO and the BBC's collaboration to create a four-part miniseries with UK indie Company Pictures should motivate you to pick this one up of your shelf!
How to Participate?
- Feel free to write an announcement post on your blog
- Feel free to post the above button on your blog
- The above isn't required, but definitely don't forget to enter your blog site with Mr. Linky below. (If you don't have a blog, no worries. Add a comment instead to this post and feel free to read with us!)
Schedule (I'm referencing my paperback copy)
- November 28: Reading commences on or before
- December 4: Progress post for Parts 1 & 2 (pages 3 to 148 = 146 pages to read)
- December 11: Progress post for Parts 3 & 4 (pages 149 to 388 = 240 pages to read)
- December 18: Final Progress post for Parts 5 & 6 (pages 389 to 604 = 216 pages to read)
- Audiobook fans, please join!
Description from Indiebound
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.
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.
THINKING OF JOINING? ADD YOUR LINK HERE:
I'm drooling!! I'll get my link up soon...trying to decide whether to get paper or download this one on my Nook...can't wait!!
ReplyDeleteI just put our blogs link for now and I'll put the button up later (it's pretty!). I'm so glad you guys decided to do this, I was totally stalking the twitter convo and going *do iiiiitttt* in my head. (P.s. - I'm not a stalker, promise)
ReplyDeleteI haven't written my start-up post yet but I am totally doing this. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had been part of a read-a-long when I tried to tackle Wolf Hall last year. Good luck with your reading.
ReplyDeleteStrange, I was going to post on Twitter yesterday so see if anyone wanted to read this with me... honest!
ReplyDeleteI'm in. I actually bought the hardcover the day is was released.
Brilliant! This book has been on my shelf for far too long. Every time I walk past it I feel wistful. Thanks for hosting the perfect Thanksgiving readalong!
ReplyDeleteHello I read the book in the month of August, but start reading again the book 2 days ago, I am in page 91,its great.
ReplyDeleteI am reading the book, page 91...lol, love the book....:)
ReplyDeleteahhh, i wish i had the time to tackle this beast right now...in the midst of judging inspy's at the moment and trying to get my head above water on review books....mmmm, is that even possible?!?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to join in, but I don't have time right now. But I shall pass it along
ReplyDeleteI have had this book for the longest time, and so want to read it, so I am going to have to seriously consider this readalong. What a great choice! I need to see if I can do this!
ReplyDeleteOoh, didn't know that about the HBO/BBC collaboration on this one.
ReplyDeleteI read Wolf Hall a few months after it first came out and sadly I didn't like it very much. I hope you all enjoy it more than I did! :P
Best of luck! I really want to read this some day, but the holiday period would be no good for me. Still, I hope your posts will motivate me to finally pick it up next year.
ReplyDeleteI'm in! Looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like fun-I have too many commitments now that the holiday season has begun. I am infuriated about the entire Jack situation. It is truly outrageous.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I'll try to catch up with you all.. and will definitely be checking in to see what you all thought of the novel. (My book focuses on film adaptations, so thanks for the heads-up on the miniseries.)
ReplyDeletehad to join in even tho I read this 18 months ago. I LOVED this book. Am so excited about the dramatisation
ReplyDeleteThis is a biggie, but I'm going to give it a shot. Looks like a wonderful book.
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to this!
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