Book Review of Mistress Cromwell by Carol McGrath
I tried to read another historical fiction book by Carol McGrath and whilst I finished it, didn’t entirely enjoy it. Luckily, some of her other novels were, understandably, advertised in the back. One of them grabbed me, Mistress Cromwell, a story about Elizabeth, the wife of Thomas Cromwell of Wolf Hall fame. After being engrossed by the second and final series as shown on the BBC, as well as seeing the costumes, including Mark Rylance’s Cromwell one, from the series, this seemed like a novel I certainly couldn’t pass up. I definitely wasn’t disappointed at all.
Little is known about Elizabeth Cromwell, who had been married to Tom Williams before going on to marry Thomas Cromwell, other than her family, and probably herself, had worked in textile businesses. This novel seeks to give Elizabeth her own life and character and the author certainly manages that in spades. Elizabeth, whilst wanting to be an educated and somewhat independent women, exemplifies how contradictory that statement could be, especially at the time of the Reformation. In fact, this novel does go into how widows did manage to have some sort of independence in a world that seemed to be against women. It is this sense of independence that seems to attract Cromwell as her future husband.
I personally loved the love story between her and Cromwell, which was sometimes at odds due to Cromwell’s rising status with Cardinal Wolsey and the connections he was starting to make at the court of Henry VIII. There is no denying there is love between the pair and it felt real to see the struggles within a marriage as well, not just a rose tinted glasses version. Still, this doesn’t dissuade the reader from their relationship.
I found this very much an engrossing read that was very hard to put down. This is largely down to the author’s ability to write in a way that makes it very easy for the reader to imagine the Tudor world she is describing. The plot, including the many secrets, twists and turns, only add to this. If you’re looking for something that also has a bit of drama, then this certainly has it. There were many bits of drama, but not too many to make the story seem unrealistic. In fact, I would go so far as to say that just as with the recent Wolf Hall or Shardlake adaptations, this too would make a wonderful period drama for the screen!
The book does jump from different time periods between Elizabeth’s life with Cromwell and her earlier life in the run up, or during, her marriage to Thomas Williams. I can understand that this isn’t always to everyone’s taste, but I found it a necessary technique for the plotline and helped to show some of Elizabeth’s anxieties even within her marriage to Cromwell. This certainly does help to flesh her out as a character as well, even more so considering little is known about her factually, so this helps the reader to imagine what she might have been like as a person.
I myself am definitely not a Tudor fan, but must admit the adaptations of Wolf Hall, Thomas Cromwell has become a more sympathetic figure to me. This book does much the same for his wife. Any book that does that to historical women is a good thing in my eyes. I read the majority of this whilst I had Covid and I am very grateful I was reading such a good book whilst suffering from that. It certainly helped me through it.
All in all, I can say that I would really recommend this for any Tudor fan or historical fiction fan. In fact, I have already recommended this elsewhere on my social media.
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