Book review: Mistress Cromwell

aka The Woman in the Shadows

I loved the idea of this book. I was keen to see another side of Thomas Cromwell – this time through the eyes of his wife. But, in spite of my interest in the subject, it took me a number of months to get through the book. I’m trying to put my finger on why, and I think the story lacked enough momentum to keep me turning the page, and wanting to read chapter after chapter.

The book is written from the perspective of Elizabeth, Cromwell’s wife, and starts with the death of her first husband, Tom Williams. There’s something shameful in Williams’ past, and Elizabeth and her household almost pay the price for that early on in the book.

The story shifts between vignettes of the present (1526) and the past, and shows Cromwell in a largely domestic setting. His marriage to Elizabeth is doubly blessed - a love match as well as a convenient way to shore up Cromwell’s connections within the London cloth trade. Cromwell is deeply loyal to his family. As well as being warm and loving with both his wife and their children, he’s also keen to fold members of the wider family into the embrace of his ever-growing business, creating opportunities for them they could never have dreamed of.

In spite of this warm portrayal, the book does not shy away from Cromwell’s ambition. He has a core of steel which is amply demonstrated when he is crossed by anyone who threatens his family, his life or his business interests. Even Elizabeth finds herself on the wrong side of this on several occasions.

What I liked

The book is clearly well-researched, and readers will learn a lot about the lives of the Merchant class in London both at work and at home. There are some lovely little details. I particularly liked how McGrath weaved Elizabeth’s jellies into the well-known tale of Cromwell's trip to Rome to lobby the Pope.

I was delighted to see Elizabeth portrayed as a business woman. The book shows that women in Tudor times were ambitious for their own business as well as that of their husband. And yet the book makes it clear that this freedom only stretched so far. Elizabeth is still very much ruled by Cromwell as the head of the household, and has little say in many important areas of her life.

What I struggled with

The language is a mix of contemporary and 16th Century English. I am well-used to historical terms being used to describe items and activities in historical fiction, but some uses of the older English called attention to themselves as I read through the book and interrupted the flow of the sentences and the story.

While the story had some elements of jeopardy - in relation to her first husband, a former suitor and Cromwell’s sympathy for evangelicals (which was heretical at the time) - these all seemed to be easily managed, usually by Thomas using contacts to save the day. I feel these could have been developed further, heightening the tension and intrigue of the novel.

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