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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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Publisher's 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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-04-2020
Magnificent in every way.
I loved the voice that Ben Miles gives to Cromwell. Acknowledging his blacksmith origins in Putney yet rising so far beyond them. A great mind, a complex man, a glittering and brutal world.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 11-06-2020
Excellent, but the Audible narration brilliant
Mantel is not only a brilliant writer but Ben Miles caps it off. How Ben is able to bring to life the characters with such professionalism is just amazing. It is like theatre without going to a theatre.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Prof Chris Turney
- 27-09-2020
Amazing
This final part of the Wolf Hall trilogy completes the extraordinary story of Thomas Cromwell. You live and breath with the great man, right to the very end. I’m devastated it has come to an end. Absolutely amazing. I can’t recommend The Mirror and the Light enough!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-02-2021
The snake pit
A great meandering tale through the uncertain and deadly world of Henry the V111, where to rise high makes the fall even greater
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Almah Tararia
- 27-05-2020
Masterpiece
I loved it, cried with Rafe Sadler and Christophe. Hilary Mantel, for another Man Booker prize.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jac
- 23-02-2022
Maybe best book in trilogy
So far I’ve read the first 2 volumes and listened to Ben Miles reading the third. All are compelling. A second reading really added to my understanding and pleasure as I expect will listening to the audiobook of the third volume again.
Can’t recommend the trilogy strongly enough, however you access it. Do.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-08-2022
Magnificent series.
Mantel wrote this trilogy specifically to be heard. The audio books make it much easier to understand her style of writing.
A deep dive into the life of a man who changed the course of history, and a detailed description of the times in which he lived.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- P
- 17-04-2020
BRILLIANT NOVEL AND NARRATOR
I thorough enjoyed both the richness of Hilary Mantel's prose along with the wisdom of Ben Miles' narration. He manages to very subtly evoke a variety of voices and perspectives without ever sounding affected.
I was completely astonished to read some people's criticism of his performance. It was both authentic and insightful.
When listening to this work, one feels to be in the hands of two remarkable artists.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 19-04-2020
Excellent writing, equaled by excellent narration
Lengthy but compelling. Excellent writing enhanced by superb narration by Ben Miles. Thanks- thoroughly enjoyed it. Clinton Anderson
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 03-08-2021
Loved it
Amazing trilogy. You are transported to Henry the eight’s time. So enjoyable,Ben Miles narration outstanding. Will have trouble finding another so transfixing.
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