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The Mirror and the Light
- The Wolf Hall Trilogy, Book 3
- Narrated by: Ben Miles
- Length: 38 hrs and 11 mins
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The Mirror and the Light
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Summary
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2020
The long-awaited sequel to Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, the stunning conclusion to Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker Prize-winning Thomas Cromwell trilogy.
‘If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?’
England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith’s son from Putney emerges from the spring’s bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen. Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. But can a nation, or a person, shed the past like a skin? Do the dead continually unbury themselves? What will you do, the Spanish ambassador asks Cromwell, when the king turns on you, as sooner or later he turns on everyone close to him?
With The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage.
Critic reviews
“You’ll frequently hit the rewind button to fully appreciate the many, many perfect passages.” (Irish Times)
“Actor Ben Miles played Cromwell in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptations of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, making him the perfect choice to narrate the remarkable final instalment in the Man Booker Prize-winning trilogy.” (Vogue)
What listeners say about The Mirror and the Light
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- JOHN
- 08-03-20
The Narration is Fine - Ignore the Naysayers!
I'm about a quarter of the way into the book so am not in a position to give a definitive review. However, it has garnered almost universal praise and from what I've listened to thus far it is easy to see why. What has prompted me to post this review is the surprising number of listeners who have been disappointed with the narration ("awful", "terrible", "appalling", etc). This genuinely perplexes me as I think Ben Miles does an excellent job. He was also chosen for the job by Mantel herself. He has played Cromwell in the RSC production of "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" and so understands the character inside out. Mantel, in a statement issued by Macmillan Audio in January, said: "“His insights from the rehearsal room helped shape the story. He is familiar with how all the characters grow, from first page to last. His voice is as close as can be to the voice that’s in my head as I write.” [Edit: 29/3/20 - I finished the book yesterday. Absolutely brilliant from start to finish. Thank you Hilary Mantel and thank you Ben Miles for the outstanding narration.]
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69 people found this helpful
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- susanne H
- 08-03-20
I Can't Believe That We're Reviewing the Same Book
The narration is excellent and the book is marvellous. I honestly don't know why people are complaining. Just listen for yourself
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33 people found this helpful
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- Mrs L.
- 19-03-20
So well worth the wait!
A double delight - The Mirror and The Light arrived on kindle and audiobook simultaneously. Since then it's been with me almost constantly. I cannot begin adequately to praise Hilary Mantel for this stunning conclusion to her magnum opus. Never for a moment has she faltered in her imagination of the mind of Thomas Cromwell and the varied interactions, plots and times of joy and anguish. Her presentation of that complex and dangerous man, Henry VIII, has been a fascinating development throughout the trilogy and this book in particular as, alas, the king finally 'grows up'. Oh, Thomas...
Great praise also, of course, for the narration of Ben Miles. He most excellently brings to life both Cromwell's internal and external (speaking) voices. He reproduces so well the informality of Cromwell's thoughts and, often, speech that we might be sitting at ease, chatting... as you do.
An excellent 'marriage' of author and reader.
The last 5 minutes had me completely choked. no greater praise.
Thank you.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ke Donn
- 20-03-20
Beautifully done
I'm so sad to have finished this wonderful book. such is Hilary Mantel's writing I was dreading coming to the end. Cromwell is brought to life by Ben Mills and I really have no idea why his narration has been criticised. He played Cromwell in the stage version and has a wonderful clear voice. I love how he really distinguishes all the characters and especially his Henry ...it feels just right. The story itself although we know the end is well thought out and 38 hours goes too quick
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Andrew
- 28-03-20
Sensationally good!
Sensationally good. So easy to take Mantel's prose, and level of research, for granted. It has such dreadful momentum, and the final passages are exquisite! Stunningly read by Ben Miles.
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2 people found this helpful
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- MARK W.
- 17-04-21
Loved it, even the inevitable end
Thought I would struggle with new narrator, but nothing of the sort. Ben became Thomas Cromwell for me within the first chapter! Excellent trilogy, thoroughly recommend
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Richard Borgonon
- 09-04-20
Simply stunning - thank you Hilary and Ben!
What a masterpiece of engagement- transporting with total believability back to a time , a place and a man with a richness that is captivating.
My dog walks will be so much the poorer for not waking with Thomas !
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1 person found this helpful
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- CantVal
- 26-03-20
I would give it even more stars if I could
Beautifully and sensitively narrated this concludes the trilogy. If you have not listened to the previous two books please do not start here this amazing series is best followed in order so that you follow the life of this subtle and complex man. Hilary Mantel has said that she was sad to finish with Cromwell a feeling with which I am sure many of her readers/listeners will concur. Most of us will know the story but that is in my opinion irrelevant as we have not lived it alongside Cromwell in the, as Hilary calls it, the Wolf Pit of Henry’s court. I urge you to listen to this
There are few audio books that I would listen to again with as much relish as this one
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- D. Cottam
- 31-03-20
Extraordinary, vivid and moving
I Have just finished listening to the third and final part. It is an overwhelming experience. The reader
has achieved something remarkable.
I shall now read the book and hear his voice in my mind.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Claybrooke
- 20-05-21
Absorbing, beautiful, brilliant
I had read the first two books and loved them. Listening to the third one was even more amazing. Ben Miles is Thomas Cromwell. I feel I know him. I’m just so sad to have finished it because I’m going to miss him! These books are exquisite, musical, scholarly, gripping - an incredible human accomplishment.
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