RaveThe Washington Independent Review of BooksMantel’s vivid grasp of history, whittled down to fine logistical details of who was where and when, conveys a sense of urgency and precision. Figures we know through flat biographical details live on Mantel’s page. Anne, though brittle in her queenship, is a longing mother: Her eyes follow Princess Elizabeth when court etiquette sweeps the child away. Henry is less the tyrannical ruler than a stymied husband and father, pressed by foreign and domestic powers on what he considers to be family matters. And Cromwell uses truth, rumor and scandal to achieve Henry’s ends, yet his private thoughts betray his doubts and misgivings as he executes his duty. Mantel’s Tudor court is less gilded than the bodice-busters of popular fiction. It is government, merciless and firm. Its human pawns react as best they can.