Skip to content

This Reading Life

  • About
  • Australiana
    • Australian Novellas
    • Australian Anthologies & Guides
      • Australian Literature
      • Eclipsed : Two Centuries of Australian Women’s Fiction | Connie Burns & Marygai McNamara (editors)
      • Penguin Anthology of Australian Women’s Writing
      • The Oxford Literary Guide to Australia
      • Her Selection | edited by Lynne Spender
    • Australian Essays
    • Books Set in Canberra or the ACT
    • Books Set in the Northern Territory
    • State By State
  • Awards & Prizes
    • Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
    • Booker Prize
    • CBCA
    • Costa Book Awards
    • Hans Christian Andersen Award
    • Historical Novel Prize Australiasia
    • International Dublin Literary Award
    • Kibble & Dobbie Literary Awards
    • Miles Franklin Literary Award
    • Nobel
    • Pulitzer Prize Fiction
    • Stella Prize
    • Walter Scott Prize
    • Women’s Prize
  • Brona’s Books
    • Adult A-Z
    • Children’s Picture Books A-Z
    • Early Readers A-Z
    • Junior Readers A-Z
    • Teen A-Z
    • Young Adult A-Z
  • My Reading Life
    • A-Z Adult
    • A-Z Children
    • Mount TBR
      • TBR Australia
      • TBR eReader
      • TBR International Fiction
      • TBR International Non-Fiction
      • TBR Translations
    • Overseas Challenge
    • The Great Big Author Challenge
      • Simenon, Georges
      • von Armin, Elizabeth
      • Woolf, Virginia
      • Zola, Émile
  • The Classics Club
    • Children’s Classics
    • Classic ReReads
    • Classics Club List #1
    • Classics Club List #2
    • Classics Club List #3
    • Classics Club TBR

Tag: Hilary Mantel

The Mirror and the Light | Hilary Mantel #Readalong

June 8, 2021June 9, 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 10 Comments

Once the queen's head is severed, he walks away. Didn't Anne die in the previous book? And didn't we deal with the time immediately after her death already? Is this opening line a signal that a big recap is coming? Yes and no. As it turns out The Mirror and the Light is an overlong … Continue reading The Mirror and the Light | Hilary Mantel #Readalong

The End #WolfHallReadalong2021

May 31, 2021May 31, 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 10 Comments

Did you make? Three mammoth books about a fascinating time in history, full of dastardly deeds, changing allegiances and power struggles. A time when loyalty was the name of the game. Treason was the crime. Death by execution the end result. We are all dying, just at different speeds. The pall of death and dying … Continue reading The End #WolfHallReadalong2021

#WolfHallReadalong2021

April 30, 2021April 28, 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 18 Comments

“We are all dying, just at different speeds.” The end is nigh. For our Wolf Hall trilogy readalong and for Thomas Cromwell. I hope you enjoyed your Tudor mini-break throughout April; I certainly did. But I am now more than ready to tackle the final episode in this courtly drama, The Mirror and the Light, … Continue reading #WolfHallReadalong2021

Bring Up the Bodies | Hilary Mantel #Readalong

April 27, 2021June 5, 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 12 Comments

His children are falling from the sky. Part of my desire in (re)reading Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies was to refresh my memory, so that I could have it all front of mind for my very first reading of The Mirror and the Light. As I started BUTB, I realised that Mantel helps … Continue reading Bring Up the Bodies | Hilary Mantel #Readalong

#WolfHallReadalong2021 Update

March 31, 2021March 18, 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 16 Comments

Here we are at the end of March, and hopefully, the end of our (re)read of both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. A road trip holiday has delayed my ability to finish BUTB on time, but I'm close. Very, very close. My (re)read of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies has reminded … Continue reading #WolfHallReadalong2021 Update

Wolf Hall | Hilary Mantel #Readalong

March 18, 2021April 6, 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 12 Comments

Right from page one, it is obvious to see (as I (re)read), that Mantel is setting up the story to show Cromwell in a favourable and sympathetic light. The first chapter of Wolf Hall graphically, and unforgettably, describes a young Thomas Cromwell being severely beaten by his father, Walter. This is not a one-off event … Continue reading Wolf Hall | Hilary Mantel #Readalong

Bring Up the Bodies | Hilary Mantel

June 12, 2012April 6, 2022 ~ Brona's Books ~ 4 Comments

From what I have read, we know a lot about Thomas Cromwell's deeds but not a lot about his motivations, feelings or thoughts. This is what Hilary Mantel gives us with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Mantel gives Cromwell flesh, heart and thoughts. Via these two novels we see Cromwell's desires, his disappointments and … Continue reading Bring Up the Bodies | Hilary Mantel

Book Beginnings on Fridays

May 26, 2012April 5, 2022 ~ Brona's Books ~ 1 Comment

Although it is strictly speaking, no longer Friday where I live, I figure it is Friday still somewhere in the world! Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader. This week I am reading 'Bring Up the Bodies' by Hilary Mantel. The opening lines (after several pages of cast of characters and family … Continue reading Book Beginnings on Fridays

An International Feast

June 27, 2011April 8, 2021 ~ Brona's Books ~ 3 Comments

My previous post was all Aussie. Now for the adult fiction update from around the world. I'll begin with one of my favourites - When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. Funny, poignant, heart-warming, up-lifting. A truly human drama full of surprises, quirks & tragedy. A great holiday read; one you will want to share … Continue reading An International Feast

Recent Posts

  • The Sign of the Four | Arthur Conan Doyle #CCspin
  • Bao Guang | Roses Made From Water #poetrymonth
  • The Other Tiger | Jorge Luis Borges #poetrymonth
  • Cold Light Introduction #EdithReadalong
  • August – Poetry and Austen
  • The Inseparables | Simone de Beauvoir #FRAfiction
  • The Paris Bookseller | Kerri Maher #USAfiction
  • Dark Palace | Frank Moorhouse #EdithReadalong
  • Maigret and the Minister | Georges Simenon #ParisinJuly
  • Maigret Goes to School | Georges Simenon #ParisinJuly

Recent Comments

wadholloway on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
Marianne Maurer on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
mallikabooks15 on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
whisperinggums on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
Brona's Books on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
whatmeread on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
whatmeread on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
Brona's Books on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
Brona's Books on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…
Brona's Books on The Sign of the Four | Arthur…

Top Posts & Pages

  • The Sign of the Four | Arthur Conan Doyle #CCspin
  • The White Girl | Tony Birch #AUSfiction
  • The Labyrinth | Amanda Lohrey #AWW
  • The Gods of Greece | Friedrich von Schiller #poem
  • The Best Short Stories | Guy de Maupassant
  • Stories & Shout Outs #51
  • 99 Interpretations of The Drover's Wives | Ryan O'Neill
  • Honeybee | Craig Silvey #AUSfiction
  • Cywydd y Cedor | Gwerful Mechain #Dewithon22
  • I Am the Road | Claire G Coleman #AWW
Follow on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow Brona's Books and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 226 other followers

Tags

20 Books of Winter 2011 2018 2019 2020 2021 Animal Story AusReading Month AUST Australia Australia in Print Aust Women Writers Belonging Biography Blogging CBCA CC Spin Classic Coming of Age Contemporary Fiction Crime Discovery Environment Family Drama Fantasy French Friendship Historical Fiction Humour Illustrator Indigenous Lists Man Booker Meme Non-Fiction Non-fiction Nov Paris Paris in July Picture Book Poetry Readalong Reading England Relationships Series Short Story Stories and Shout Outs Translation USA War Story Women's Issues

Creative Commons License
All work on This Reading Life is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Posts I Like

  • Book Review: Cannery Row by Jo… on Bookshelf Fantasies
  • Review 2004: Classics Club Spi… on whatmeread
  • Life with Father, Clarence Day… on Relevant Obscurity
  • #CCSpin #30 Review - Know Thy… on The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog
  • Consider the Lilies by Iain Cr… on FictionFan's Book Reviews

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Start a Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • bronasbooks.com
    • Join 226 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • bronasbooks.com
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...