Ep. 69 - WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT - The Rise and Fall of a Power Player
Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT Photo: Masterpiece
In episode 69 we spotlight the PBS Masterpiece series WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT and the Folger Shakespeare Library’s exhibition, “How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition” with curator Dr. Heather Wolfe, Curator of Manuscripts for the Folger in Washington, DC, which holds the world’s largest Shakespeare collection.
Power and political prowess are prominent in WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT, adapted from the late author Hilary Mantel’s final historical novel that follows the journey of Thomas Cromwell from a self-made man to the most feared and influential figure in King Henry VIII’s English court. In the podcast, Heather Wolfe gives us a behind-the-scenes look into the exhibit’s power plays and players when Thomas Cromwell was principal advisor to King Henry the VIII from 1532 to 1540. In this podcast we also explore…
Great Britain’s Tudor Power Players and Leadership Manuals
Social Status and Power in Tudor Times
Class Status and Power in Great Britain’s Tudor Court
As a bonus for the podcast, Wolfe shares several artifacts from the Folger collection related to the historical Cromwell, Henry VIII and Henry’s 4th wife, Anne of Cleves (see below) who are portrayed in WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT.
GUEST
When I was selecting items for the exhibition, I was continually struck by the similarities between the self-help books for managers and leaders today and the how-to books for aspiring power players from the 16th century.
Heather Wolf, Curator of Manuscripts, Folger Shakespeare Library
Heather Wolfe, Ph.D.
Heather Wolfe is Curator of Manuscripts at the Folger Shakespeare Library, where she has worked since 2000. The exhibition How to be a Power Player: Tudor Edition, which she curated, is on view at the Folger until the end of July 2025. One of her favorite parts of her job is teaching people how to read the handwriting from Shakespeare’s period.
Wolfe’s first book, Elizabeth Cary, Lady Falkland: Life and Letters (2000), received the first annual Josephine Roberts Scholarly Edition Award from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women. She has written widely on the intersections between manuscript and print culture in early modern England, and edited The Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608 (2007), The Literary Career and Legacy of Elizabeth Cary (2007), and Letterwriting in Renaissance England (2004, with Alan Stewart).
Her essay “The Material Culture of Record-Keeping in Early Modern England,” co-written with Peter Stallybrass, received the 2019 Archival History Article Award from the Society of American Archivists. Wolfe is currently working on a book on writing paper in early modern England. She received her B.A. from Amherst College, her M.L.I.S. from UCLA, and her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.
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HILARY MANTEL (1952 - 2022): The Thomas Cromwell/Wolf Hall Trilogy
The Mirror and the Light (2020)
Bring Up the Bodies (2012), winner of the Man Booker Prize
Wolf Hall (2009), winner of the Man Booker Prize
“How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition”
How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition invites you into a world of lace ruffs, jousting, hawks, bad handwriting, scandal, and political factions. Experience the playbooks, the people, and the spectacular fails, as courtiers tried to navigate the minefield of working for a boss who could shower you with riches or chop off your head.
The exhibition features more than 60 objects from the Folger’s collection to demonstrate the “rules” for how to be a successful courtier. They show how historical and literary figures ranging from royal advisors to household staff used cunning, cutthroat, and creative means to acquire power and curry favor with the Tudor monarchs.
The Folger Shakespeare Library makes William Shakespeare’s stories and the world in which he lived accessible to the visiting public from interactive exhibitions to performances, research and educational programming. The Folger holds the world’s largest Shakespeare collection. It’s a place where curiosity and creativity are embraced and conversation is always encouraged.
Plan your visit to the Folger Shakespeare Library to experience “How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition” and other exhibits, performances, and programs in-person and online. Go to the Folger website at www.folger.edu
Below are images from the Folger’s collections related to the real-life Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII, and Anne of Cleves. Listen to the podcast for the story behind these Tudor artifacts.
WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT
WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT (2025)
It’s 1536. Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance), a man with only his wits to rely on, has no great family to back him, and no private army. Navigating the moral complexities that accompany the exercise of power in this brutal and bloody time, Cromwell is caught between his desire to do what is right and his instinct to survive. But in the wake of Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) having executed his queen, Anne Boleyn, no one is safe.
WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT traces the final four years of Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. The series is based on the final novel by Hilary Mantel in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy. The first season (2015), WOLF HALL, is based on Mantel’s first two Cromwell novels.
In addition to Rylance and Lewis, WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT features Kate Phillips (MISS SCARLET) as Jane Seymour, Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary, Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey, Harriet Walter as Lady Margaret Pole, Harry Melling as Thomas Wriothesley, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Rafe Sadler, Timothy Spall as the Duke of Norfolk, Alex Jennings as Stephen Gardiner, Dana Herfurth as Anne of Cleves, and Charlie Rowe as Gregory Cromwell. The series is directed by seven-time BAFTA award winner Peter Kosminsky (The Undeclared War, The State), and adapted for television by Academy award nominee Peter Straughan (TINKER TAILER SOLDIER SPY).
Visit MASTERPIECE’s official webpage for WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT
