介绍:
Tudor, Tudor, Tudor. There is no other period in British history that could evoke such relish than the Tudor dynasty. From the infamous wife killer Henry VIII to the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I, many have been obsessed with the complicated power struggle, intrigue and love affairs during that blood-soaked era.
Among all these medieval dramas, the entanglements of Henry VIII with his six wives have always been stories worthy of tabloids. For centuries, playwrights, fictionists and filmmakers have portrayed the king as a virile, philandering and temperamental bluebeard, as this 16th century monarch beheaded two and divorced two of his many wives.
However, in Hilary Mantel's Tudor saga "Wolf Hall" and its sequel "Bring up the Bodies", the usual focus on sensuality and dysfunctional royal family in literature is dismissed.
Here is Song Ling, editor of the Chinese versions of the books.
"These fictions are pretty serious. You cannot find excessive interpretation here, since they are written based on reliable and solid research on history. The stories are not made-up fantasies. "
But the writer doesn't burden her readers with lengthy and tedious research. Stripping away the cobwebs and varnish of history, Mantel describes major shifts of the Tudor age through the viewpoint of Thomas Cromwell, a usual marginal figure in the literary world. As the Chief Minister of the King, he helped Henry get rid of his first wife, expelled papal authority in England, and plotted the murder of the saintly Thomas More.
According to Song Ling, traditionally Cromwell is regarded as a villain and a sham, but Mantel upends his image as a charmer, mastermind, and family man.
"On the one hand, Mantel's Cromwell is a ruthless man who masters political skills; on the other hand, he is sensitive and loving to his families. So she enriches the image of this character. When you observe this period of history through the eyes of Cromwell, you may feel like seeing the world through a camera on his shoulder. "
As its prequel "Wolf Hall" ends up with the king breaking away from the Vatican and is married to Anne Boleyn, "Bring up the Bodies" starts in the fall of 1535, when Henry gets disenchanted with Anne, who fails to provide him a male heir. Compared with the first volume that spans more than thirty years of Cromwell's life, the latest installment occupies only nine months and speeds up over the last three weeks of Anne Boleyn, when she was arrested and executed for treason and adultery.
Without wasted word or rhetoric, Mantel shapes this medieval thriller with shorter and tauter plot. Though many may not be strangers to this significant episode of England's history, the alive and silvery scenes and alert, authentic dialogues of the fiction appear to drag us whisper-close to the bloody theatre of Anne Boleyn's last days. Immersing into the sensory language of Mantel and following the astute mind of Cromwell, readers could vividly experience the carefully-crafted entrapment, the volatile nature of Henry, and also the chilling suspense and pathos for Anne.
As the editor for the Chinese version of the book, Song Ling emphasizes that although many have already penned down this historical shift, Mantel's written style is utterly something of its own.
"Taking Shakespeare's 'Henry VIII' for example, the timeline of the play proceeds really fast. The whole plot is connected through the trials of several major characters. But Mantel took great time to depict the details, which will require great patience from her readers. (Meanwhile), compared with other historical novels written in past tense, this book is carried out in present tense, which could close the distance between readers and the history."
Here is a scene from the book between Henry VIII and Cromwell after the king's wedding with the third queen in a row.
"Henry is quiet, and more melancholy that day than any bridegroom ought to be. He is not thinking about his last queen; she is ten days dead and he never speaks of her. But he says, 'Crumb, I don't know if I will have any children now…I have wasted my best years. I don't know where they have gone.' The king feels he has been cheated of his fate. 'When my brother Arthur died, my father's astrologer predicted that I should enjoy a prosperous reign and father many sons.'
You're prosperous at least, he (Cromwell) thinks: and if you stick with me, richer than you can ever have imagined. Somewhere, Thomas Cromwell was in your chart."
At the end of the story, Thomas Cromwell seems to work up his way to the height of his power, but the author doesn't hype his excitement and joy; instead, she conjures up an atmosphere of uncertainty, since "the word 'however' is like an imp coiled beneath your chair".
Hailed as "one of the greatest achievements of modern literature", "Bring up the Bodies" and its prequel "Wolf Hall" help their creator become the first woman and first British author to win Man Booker Prize more than once.
Published in China in September this year, is "Bring up the Bodies" going to attract local readers or not?
Lu Jiande, the head of Institute of Literature at Chinese Academy of Social Science, gives his answer.
"England of the 16th century seems distant. But on second thought, you will find some similarities."
Currently, Mantel is working on her last volume of Tudor trilogy, The Mirror and the Light.
For Studio Plus, this is Xiong Siqi.
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