Reinterpreting Thomas Cromwell’s Legacy in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall

Abstract

This paper examines How Wolf Hall reinterprets Thomas Cromwell’s legacy and it examines how Mantel challenges the conventional view of Cromwell as a cruel leader by offering a more nuanced a description of his political acumen and inner motivations. By rewriting Cromwell’s life story from both historical and fictitious materials, Mantel humanizes him and shows him as a self-made man navigating the turbulent political climate of Tudor England. The chapter also looks at how literary reinterpretations of the past impact modern perceptions of historical figures.