Tracy Borman is a historian and author. She’s also the biographer of Thomas Cromwell, the central figure in the BBC’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light. We’re delighted that she’s reviewed the first programme in the series for us (and relieved that she found it lived up to her expectations).
I am a self-confessed Cromwell obsessive. I spent years researching and writing my biography of Henry VIII’s all-powerful minister. I have read and re-read Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning trilogy Wolf Hall and have watched the BBC adaptation 27 times (and counting). I was married in the Tower of London chapel where Cromwell lies buried. Even my dog is called Cromwell.
And so, when I was invited to the premiere of The Mirror and the Light, the lavish new six-part BBC adaptation of Mantel’s final novel, I was like a kid at Christmas. Not only would I get to see the first episode a week ahead of its general release on 10 November, I would also have the chance to meet the star-studded cast in the flesh.
By the time the event came around, I was on the verge of spontaneously combusting. But my excitement was tempered by a small, nagging doubt. This was the adaptation I had waited almost 10 years to see, ever since the credits rolled on episode six of Wolf Hall in February 2015.
Would it live up to the expectations that had inflated faster than Henry VIII’s waistline? The answer was an emphatic yes.
The first episode begins where the previous series ended, with the execution of Anne Boleyn, brilliantly played by Claire Foy, who went on to assume the role of a much more recent queen in The Crown.
Parts of the scene have been re-shot because not all the original cast were able to return, notably Tom Holland, who was propelled to worldwide fame as Spiderman after playing Cromwell’s son Gregory. His shoes have been ably filled by acclaimed actor Charlie Rowe.
Meanwhile, the indefatigable Timothy Spall takes on the role of Cromwell’s nemesis, the Duke of Norfolk, replacing Bernard Hill, who died earlier this year.
A full 10 years have passed since the first series aired, so the remaining cast members have, naturally, aged. But then, the two series combined cover the full 10 years of Cromwell’s rise to power so, if anything, this adds to the authenticity.
Besides, the most significant change is not in the protagonist’s appearance but in his attitude. Gone is the swagger that characterised Cromwell’s seemingly inexorable rise from blacksmith’s boy to all-powerful minister. The wry smiles and witty asides have been replaced by furrowed brows and a fearful, haunted expression with which Mark Rylance deftly conveys a thousand words.
Henry, too, has changed. The ‘Adonis’ who ascended the throne in 1509 has been replaced by a hefty, irascible tyrant whose already quick temper is more volatile still thanks to a painful leg wound sustained in a jousting accident. Damian Lewis is suitably magisterial and menacing in the role.
Other stand-out performances include Lilit Lesser as the beleaguered Princess Mary and Kate Phillips as the apparently meek but inwardly wily Jane Seymour.
The Mirror and the Light is set against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent periods in English history, from the execution of Henry VIII’s second wife in 1536 to that of Cromwell himself four years later. Anne Boleyn was hardly cold in her grave when Henry married her former lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour.
A year after the wedding, she gave him the son he so desperately craved (the future Edward VI) but died a few days later. The hunt was soon on for her replacement, and Cromwell was quickest off the mark.
But while he had found the perfect diplomatic match in Anne of Cleves, he had disastrously misjudged the King’s willingness to set love aside in the interests of politics.
Contrary to popular belief, this was not the end for Cromwell, but it did expose his vulnerability – and gave his Howard enemies a chance to push forward a candidate of their own.
While Henry’s marital shenanigans were playing out, his kingdom was riven by dissent and rebellion, sparked by sweeping religious changes that saw England’s monasteries torn down brick by brick. Ominously for Cromwell, it was his head the rebels were calling for.
But the greatest danger lay closer to home, in the myriad relationships with his fellow courtiers. As the new series vividly shows, the distinction between allies and adversaries became increasingly blurred. Cromwell’s ambiguous relationship with Princess Mary is particularly well-drawn, starkly illustrating how easily trifling, innocent gestures could be twisted into treason.
Even though most viewers will know how the story ends, Peter Straughan’s script is so skilfully written, the score so evocative and the scenes so intimately filmed, that we somehow set aside the certainty of the horrors to come and live each day with Cromwell as if we, too, have no idea what lies ahead.
The meticulously-researched costumes, sets and other period details create an extraordinary level of authenticity. I remember arriving for work at Hampton Court on one of the filming days to see the palace bustling with impeccably-dressed Tudors. It was as if I had stepped into the court of Henry VIII.
Numerous other historic sites were used for the series, which was filmed entirely on location, never in a fabricated set, over the course of more than 80 days.
The exquisite attention to detail enables the viewer to suspend disbelief; to set aside what they know and immerse themselves in the drama as it unfolds. Even though I have spent so much of my career researching Cromwell’s life, his meteoric rise and dramatic fall, to the very last episode, I found myself willing the ending to be other than it was: that as Cromwell made his way to the scaffold on 28 July, 1540, a royal messenger would push through the crowds with a pardon from the king.
But, of course, no such messenger was ever despatched. Cromwell was destined to join the other victims of Henry VIII’s brutal regime who lay buried in the Tower Chapel.
Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s most Faithful Servant by Tracy Borman was published by Hodder in 2020.
Tracy is an author and historian. She is chief executive of the Heritage Education Trust and joint chief curator for Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that manages Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, among others. In 2024 she was awarded an OBE for services to heritage in the King’s Birthday Honours.
The six-part series begins on BBC One on Sunday, 10 November at 9pm.
If you enjoyed Tracy’s review, have a look at her feature, The crown: secrets for success.
Or read our interview with Tracy Borman by Catherine Hokin.
Other related Historia features include:
Henry VIII, impotence and the thorny question of male heirs by Carol McGrath
Tardiness and tempest: Henry VIII’s courtship of Anne Boleyn and Did Henry VIII really want Katheryn Howard to be executed? by Alison Weir
Thomas Howard, the man behind the Tudors by Kirsten Claiden-Yardley
The scandalous Seymours by Alexandra Walsh
And, to refresh your memory, Linda Porter watches Wolf Hall
Images (all from BBC Pictures):
- BBC publicity image for Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light: BBC/Playground Entertainment/Jay Brooks
- Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour: BBC/Playground Entertainment/Nick Briggs
- Timothy Spall as Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk (L) with Alex Jennings as Bishop Stephen Gardiner: BBC/Playground Entertainment/Nick Briggs
- Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII: BBC/Playground Entertainment/Nick Briggs
- Thomas Cromwell: BBC/Playground Entertainment/Nick Briggs
