The Cardinal

Thomas Wolsey climbed from humble origins to become the most powerful man in England after the king himself. His career took off just as Henry VIII took the throne in 1509, and the two men became close friends. By 1515 Wolsey was a cardinal and effectively ran both church and state, while also working on the international stage to bring about a lasting peace in Europe.

Then Henry fell for Anne Boleyn, a woman Wolsey would come to call "the night crow," and set out to end his marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Wolsey had always delivered whatever his master wanted, but the matter of "the Divorce" placed him in an impossible position. As he earned the hostility of the woman who would be queen, his comfortable life and his bond with the king began to fall apart.

Alison Weir's novel looks past the pomp and political scheming of the Tudor court to focus on Wolsey as a man. It shows his private life, including the mistress and children he cherished, and the tragedy that later struck them. Two women stand on either side of his story, one who loved him and one who despised him.

At its heart, the book is about the bond between a king and a commoner: what drew them together, and what finally drove them apart.