A review by stacevox
Thomas Cromwell: A Life by Diarmaid MacCulloch

4.0

This is a wonderfully detailed study of Thomas Cromwell, though I feel it has a particular emphasis on his role in the Reformation. Diarmaid MacCulloch tells us from the offset why Cromwell is so difficult to biographise, few of his outgoing letters exist, and the glimpses we do get of his personality are usually second hand. That being said, this biography manages not only to trace his early years, and his service to Wolsey and Henry VIII, but to somehow give us an insight into what his thoughts might have been through the sheer detail of his deeds, allies and enemies at the time. For a biography aimed at scholars, the book is incredibly readable I ate it up - not something I find common in historical biographies. I already have MacCulloch's biography of Cranmer on my reading list after reading this. Excellent.