Life before the fall
Ever since the publication of the second book in the Wolf Hall trilogy, Bring Up the Bodies, in 2012, speculation has been rife as to when the final instalment would appear. Then in May last year, a huge billboard went up in London’s Leicester Square. Alongside the unmistakable Tudor rose design were the words, “So now get up”, recognisable to Wolf Hall aficionados the world over as the first line of the trilogy. Not long afterwards, Mantel’s publishers, Fourth Estate, confirmed March 2020 as the publication date. Diehard fans had an agonising 10 more months to wait, but at least the end was in sight at last.
