Skip to main content
Gifts from The Morning Star
Another magnificent Mantel
PAUL DONOVAN recommends a superb conclusion to the writer’s trilogy of novels on Thomas Cromwell
MAJOR MANIPULATOR: Thomas Cromwell, portrayed by Wenceslaus Hollar

The Mirror and the Light
by Hilary Mantel
Fourth Estate, £25

WITH The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel concludes her trilogy of novels exploring both the life of Thomas Cromwell and Tudor politics.

It takes Cromwell from the height of his powers in 1536, when he was awarded the Order of the Garter by Henry VIII and extensive lands across the country, to the executioner’s block in the summer of 1540.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
People taking part in a national march for Palestine on Whitehall in central London, January 18, 2025
Features / 21 July 2025
21 July 2025

From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN

next crisis
Book Review / 11 July 2025
11 July 2025

PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by a deep dive into contemporary social crises, that examines how they are manipulated by elites

SUPPING WITH THE DEVIL: Stanley Townsend (Mr Parks), Ivanno
Theatre review / 21 March 2025
21 March 2025
PAUL DONOVAN applauds a timely play that explores the resonances of McCarthyite nationalism in today’s US
Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes after the Premier League
Men's Football / 12 March 2025
12 March 2025
Similar stories
MURDER AFORETHOUGHT: The execution of 56 Poles in Bochnia, n
Books / 28 March 2025
28 March 2025
RON JACOBS welcomes the long overdue translation of an epic work that chronicles resistance to fascism during WWII
Daniel Lind-Ramos, Ensamblajes, Nottingham Contemporary
Exhibition review / 20 February 2025
20 February 2025
ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
Thomas Cromwell in 1532 painted by Hans Holbein the Younger
Features / 21 December 2024
21 December 2024
There is no denying Thomas Cromwell's positive and progressive impact on English politics, argues STEPHEN ARNELL
ARROGANCE AND IGNORANCE: Group of six European men sitting,
Book Review / 24 September 2024
24 September 2024
FRANCOISE VERGES introduces a powerful new book that explores the damage done by colonial theft