I was 12 when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the movie, was announced. It was the year 2001, and only four of the seven books in the series had been published — all four of which I had read, re-read and loved, much before there were talks of taking the novel to the big screen. There were only a few friends in school who had read the series, and once we got tired of discussing the books, we would stalk fan websites to get our fill of anything and everything related to Harry Potter. When the films were announced, I faithfully followed the hype, developed a rather premature crush on Daniel Radcliffe and watched the film within a week of its release.
In the following few weeks at school, it seemed like everyone knew about Harry Potter; the characters weren’t exclusive to the few of us anymore. That is when I developed a condescension then towards the “haven’t read the book but I’ve watched the movie” type of people. This condescension didn’t last too long though — I am now one of them.
Any literature, when adapted well for the screen, is a joy to watch for those who are already familiar with the story, but even more so for those who aren’t. Hilary Mantel’s award-winning Wolf Hall trilogy has been on my “to-read” list for a very long time now. This year, BBC adapted the books into a six-episode mini-series for television. The story itself is based on real events, popularly known as “The King’s Great Matter”, which transpired in 16th Century England. King Henry the VIII needs an heir, but his wife of twenty years, Lady Katherine, has been unable to produce one. Henry decides to abandon his marriage, and marry Anne Boleyn, who he is infatuated with. However, the concept of divorce, isn’t just alien, but also illegal. The only way for Henry to legally alienate the Queen is by annulling the marriage, something that requires papal consent. His Cardinal, Wolsey, struggles for eight long years to get the order from the Pope, but to no avail, leading to his exile.
The entire series of events, as well as what happens next, is narrated through the life and times of Thomas Cromwell, the Cardinal’s lawyer and right hand man. Cromwell is the son of a blacksmith, a “nobody”, as he is referred to in the series, who works his way up the ranks to become the King’s confidante and an important political figure.
The casting in the series has been exceptional — the show is full of faces you’d recognise if you watch Sherlock, Homeland and even Game of Thrones, such as Mark Gatiss who plays the thoroughly entertaining Stephen Gardiner, Damian Lewis as the conceited yet strangely likeable King Henry, Claire Foy as the haughty and resolute Anne Boleyn, and Jonathan Pryce who does a remarkable job of playing the wounded Cardinal Wolsey. You’d think that it would be impossible to pick an outstanding performance in a cast like this, but Mark Rylance, who plays the politically deft and determined Thomas Cromwell, is in a league of his own.
The way the story ends for Anne in the series is no different from how it ends in history — she is executed on counts of witchcraft and incest, but watching the events unfurl on screen takes your breath away. I do hope that the show’s director, Peter Kosminsky, and writer, Peter Straughan, earn many awards for Wolf Hall . The series is perfectly paced, skilfully written, and an overall triumph in adaptation.
Hilary Mantel is due to release the final book in her trilogy very soon, and I for one, cannot wait to join in on Thomas Cromwell discussions when it does. After all, I may have not read the book, but I have watched the series.
