The Wolf Hall series by Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, The Mirror and the Light
I have heard so many recommendations of these books that I finally decided to move them to the top of my list. Mantel takes on the task of describing the inner life of Thomas Cromwell, adviser to King Henry VIII and eventually executed by him.
While much has been discussed and written of the court proceedings of that time, little is known of the details — how the (false) accusations against Anne Boleyn started, and who really made them come to life; that is, who prosecuted her as well as the men accused of having a relationship with her, and who is responsible for their deaths (besides Henry himself, of course). The answer to that, to a large extent, at least for Mantel, is Cromwell. There were naturally other men in the group of advisors to the king at the time, but most remained unscathed through his rule, unlike Cromwell. Born of common standing in Putney, Cromwell ran away from his abusive father in his teens, serving in the French army and eventually landing in Italy. Most of the first book deals with his younger years until he lands in the household of Bishop Wolsey, who served as chancellor to Henry until Henry turned against him, and he finds himself at the English court, as an advisor to the king. The second book follows Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall to power, and the final book follows Cromwell as he tries to survive the court and his eventual failure at that task.
What makes these books notable is Mantel’s deep level of detail (and obvious research) as to daily life in that time, and not court life, but the life of the lower class of noblemen, where Cromwell found himself. She has an eccentric way of narrating Cromwell’s inner thoughts, a sort of mix of straight third person with fourth person leanings, especially as Cromwell ascends in the court, which she uses throughout the series, although it is much cleaned up in the second two to make it clear who exactly is doing the talking.
Overall I thought these books were good — I enjoyed them — but they do require a time commitment as they are collectively around 1500 pages long.