# Wolf Hall, BBC adaptation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191 "2015-01-18T18:23:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/21 "2015-04-20T23:27:22Z")
I don’t usually bump but I’m watching Wolf Hall right now on PBS and it’s fantastic. I haven’t read the books but I’m following pretty well being somewhat familiar with the time period. Mark Rylance is amazing. I had the good fortune to see him on stage (thrice!) in New York (Twelfth Night and Richard III) and was completely blown away. I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t know who he was up until then but I’ll never forget him now. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/22 "2015-04-21T00:27:25Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > I don’t usually bump but I’m watching Wolf Hall right now on PBS and it’s fantastic. I haven’t read the books but I’m following pretty well being somewhat familiar with the time period. Mark Rylance is amazing. I had the good fortune to see him on stage (thrice!) in New York (Twelfth Night and Richard III) and was completely blown away. I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t know who he was up until then but I’ll never forget him now. I read the books and loved them (X10). Much of the casting & acting is spot on. Rylance is very good - however in my reading I envisioned a slightly different persona that his interpretation is not matching (more of a standard issue beefy tough guy Project Manager type) - such is the effect of having read the books. Like all book to movie adaptations some level is necessarily left out, I feel they did an excellent job of adapting. My spouse, who did not read the books, but has a basic background with the history, is keeping up just fine. There is some asking “now, who is that?” but I guess that is to be expected with such a multitude of periphery characters. We are only a few episodes in, I can’t wait for the rest! ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/23 "2015-04-21T04:16:10Z")
I’m very keen on it although I don’t know much about the history and have some trouble keeping track of the various characters. Rylance is riveting, a bit like Don Draper in the show on another channel at the same time. I think it’s fascinating that he’s normally a stage actor. Here he’s doing all the work with a shifted eye or an upturned corner of his mouth, relying on close camera work rather than big gestures to be seen 100 feet away. In that way, the performance reminds me of Michael Kitchen in _Foyle’s War._ ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/24 "2015-04-21T04:27:11Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Like all book to movie adaptations some level is necessarily left out, I feel they did an excellent job of adapting. The novels, especially the second one, basically read like screenplays. They’re almost all dialogue, with a few lines of set descriptions and internal monologue thrown in. Of course, I’m sure there’s still some work in adapting them to the screen, especially to reduce two books down to six episodes. But still, I don’t think I’ve read a book where the screenwriter had it so easy. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/25 "2015-04-21T14:57:34Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Rylance is very good - however in my reading I envisioned a slightly different persona that his interpretation is not matching (more of a standard issue beefy tough guy Project Manager type) The beefy tough guy Project Manager type is likely closer to historically accurate (esp in the looks department), but I guess when you can get Rylance… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/26 "2015-04-21T15:02:56Z")
I was looking forward to this, and watched the 1st two episodes, but it was a snooze fest for me. I simply could not stay awake. And why does Cromwell sound like an American to me? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/27 "2015-04-21T15:14:40Z")
I’m about 2/3 of the way through the book now and love it. It wasn’t what I was expecting (i.e. your conventional “here we go again” historical fiction about THE DIVORCE™®©- it really does manage a new spin and actually uses the “everybody knows he divorces her and marries Anne and yadda yadda” thing in its favor by time jumping. Also some great turns of phrase (can’t quote it exactly, but a line about how he hates waking after his wife dies because each day he has to reacquaint himself with the lack of her was powerful.) Haven’t seen any of the miniseries yet, though I’m planning to record it when they marathon it in a few weeks. A couple of spoiler questions: -Does the miniseries jump back and forth in time or is it more linear? -Either way, does it open with him on the cobblestones after being pummeled by his father? -Does Jonathan Pryce work as Cardinal Wolsey? He’s a good actor, but I always pictured the late [Robert Morley](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Robert_Morley_Allan_Warren.jpg/220px-Robert_Morley_Allan_Warren.jpg) or someone of similar girth and presence and superficial merriment. ([Ian McNeice](http://www.bigfinish.com/img/releaseimage/img_4079_large.jpg) perhaps if he’s kept some of the weight loss off- at [his biggest](http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsM/tve11754-1666-20051106-0.jpg) he’s too big, though cardinal robes hide a lot.) ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/28 "2015-04-21T17:45:42Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Haven’t seen any of the miniseries yet, though I’m planning to record it when they marathon it in a few weeks. A couple of spoiler questions: > > -Does the miniseries jump back and forth in time or is it more linear? > > -Either way, does it open with him on the cobblestones after being pummeled by his father? I would say the show is more linear, there are minor flashbacks - specifically to the incident you describe. > [@](#): > > -Does Jonathan Pryce work as Cardinal Wolsey? He’s a good actor, but I always pictured the late [Robert Morley](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Robert_Morley_Allan_Warren.jpg/220px-Robert_Morley_Allan_Warren.jpg) or someone of similar girth and presence and superficial merriment. ([Ian McNeice](http://www.bigfinish.com/img/releaseimage/img_4079_large.jpg) perhaps if he’s kept some of the weight loss off- at [his biggest](http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsM/tve11754-1666-20051106-0.jpg) he’s too big, though cardinal robes hide a lot.) IMHO he works just fine. He’s not portly, but as he’s aged his face has a certain jowlyness, so he doesn’t appear particularly slender. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/29 "2015-04-21T19:59:24Z")
I think every main character in the miniseries is quite a bit thinner than their real life counterparts… maybe with the exception of Henry (at this point in his life) ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/30 "2015-04-22T00:52:27Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > … Rylance … performance reminds me of Michael Kitchen in _Foyle’s War._ I got that impression, too, especially when he is matter-of-fact-ly laying out the consequences of their actions to recalcitrant characters. The scene where Cromwell is warning off Anne Boleyn’s ex-boyfriend reminded me of Foyle (early seaon) telling the murderous, but crucial, American arms dealer that he, Foyle, would be revisiting his crimes after the war. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > … why does Cromwell sound like an American to me? Maybe because Mark Rylance grew up in Milwaukee. I heard that in his voice, too, so looked it up. He was born in England, and returned (to train at RADA) after finishing high school, but his parents’ work took the family to the U.S. from when he was a small child (Connecticut first, then Wisconsin). I am another who couldn’t get through the books, but am loving the adaption. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/31 "2015-04-22T20:29:14Z")
FYI, Terri Gross conducted an interview with Hilary Mantel a few years ago, which was rebroadcast last week on NPR. Give it a listen if you’re interested. Spoiler alert: If you don’t know that Anne Boleyn was executed, don’t listen. (Oops!) > **[Mantel Takes Up Betrayal, Beheadings In 'Bodies'](https://www.kunr.org/2015-04-03/mantel-takes-up-betrayal-beheadings-in-bodies)** > > Hilary Mantel is the first woman to win the Man Booker Prize twice, first for her 2009 novel, Wolf Hall, and also for its 2012 sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. She discusses the books with Terry Gross. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/32 "2015-04-23T02:18:06Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I was looking forward to this, and watched the 1st two episodes, but it was a snooze fest for me. I simply could not stay awake. And why does Cromwell sound like an American to me? I tried watching the pilot but gave up half way through. This is as tedious as The Tudors was. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/33 "2015-04-23T14:38:42Z")
Huh… I’d say a lot of thing about “The Tudors” (though surprisingly it was more historically accurate than I thought it’d be… it was a low bar), but tedious would not be one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191/34 "2015-04-24T01:59:56Z")
Any feeling on how historically accurate this is? I understand it’s more pro-Cromwell than these things usually are, although historians still debate whether Cromwell was the plotter or hatchet man in the downfall of Anne Boleyn. I also noticed they have a brunette playing the reddish-yellow hair Catherine of Aragon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wolf-hall-bbc-adaptation/710191.md?page=1)