I Read Books: Thomas Cromwell by Tracy Borman

 

Thomas Cromwell: The Untold Story Of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant

Thomas Cromwell’s later career, after he became Henry VIII’s chief minister, is well documented – or at the least there are lots of documents. His early career is much more obscure. A low-born man he spent some time abroad, in particular in Italy where he learned the language and culture and made many friends and contacts. On returning to England Cardinal Wolsey, at the time Henry VIII’s chief minister, needed someone to deal with Italians and Cromwell entered his service.

Cromwell, businessman, lawyer, correspondent swiftly rose in Wolsey’s service, being chosen to stand for the House Of Commons for several parliaments. Wolsey fell when he was unable to get a divorce or annulment for Henry’s marriage to Catherine Of Aragon. Cromwell, having made himself indispensable to the cardinal then made several bold suggestions, making him indispensable to Henry. In brief he asserts Henry’s supremacy over the church in England.

This moves through several stages. Borman in this book asserts that Cromwell was ambivalent on reforming the church to become protestant; yet it was Henry who held back reforms, wanting as much as needed to secure himself as supreme, without forcing more change than needed. In any case Cromwell is able to execute the divorce freeing Henry to marry Anne Boleyn and attempt to father a son and heir. Boleyn and her family and followers are keen on reform in the church.

Despite being allies, or perhaps because, the moment Henry considered withdrawing his favour from Boleyn Cromwell was there to draw up documents and put the legal case forward. He engineered the Boleyns' downfall with ruthless efficiency. Henry swiftly replaced her with Jane Seymour, who did bear the son he wanted before dying. Something that other histories seem to have glossed over is that in August 1737, when Jane was heavily pregnant (Edward VI was born on October 12) her sister Elizabeth married Cromwell’s son Gregory.

Cromwell was one of the proponents of Henry’s fourth marriage to Anne of Cleves. Henry though felt no attraction to her, and the need for an alliance on the continent had fallen through. This created the room for Cromwell’s enemies – the nobles who hated that a low-born man rose so high, the Catholics who opposed his reforms of the church – to work against him. Henry, decisive when his suspicions were raised, may not have believed that Cromwell intended treason. But he had, by marrying his son to Elizabeth Seymour, attached himself to the royal family, making him Henry’s uncle. He had caused Henry great difficulty and annoyance with the Cleves marriage and alliance, his pushes to reform the church had become unpopular and it was time to go. He was tried, by a streamlined procedure he himself had created that made it difficult to defend himself, and then executed.

So how does this biography do? By focussing on Cromwell we get a wide if uneven look at Henry VIII’s England. As his chief minister, the broad strokes of politics, diplomacy, religion and even economics are in place. Specific details come up, when in his documents. For example Cromwell buys extensive properties, to live in, for his family, and later his followers and staff. His detailed instructions range even to the design of houses and gardens.

A good introduction to the man, trying to capture some of the complexity that his voluminous correspondence has left us. Not quite so good in offering a wider view of what was going on; developments abroad in particular are referred to very tersely to bring us up to speed between major diplomatic interventions by Cromwell.

Read This: Accessible, solid biography of the man who more than anyone transformed the religious landscape of England
Don’t Read This: Just a ruthless, competent politician, writing lots of legal briefs