Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Views were mixed. Some, with dark recollections of Wolf Hall still reverberating from a couple of years ago, had looked on the task of reading this book as a ordeal to be suffered rather than enjoyed, and I'm not sure any who felt like that found their preconceptions totally upended. One sceptic, not completing the book for the meeting, did resolve to persevere (and I, not a doubter, also hadn't finished despite having selected it – took me another week).

There were at least a couple of points of general agreement I think: that this was, on the whole, an easier and more involving book to read than the Wolf Hall. Some felt that her editors/publishers must have taken her to task and insisted that she sort out the style difficulty, widely reported and commented on in Wolf Hall, that meant readers struggled to work out exactly who was speaking and who was being spoken about. In this book it became clear early on that when Mantel spoke of 'he', she almost invariably meant Cromwell. Somehow this never really clicked in the first book. Similarly, she peppered her narrative with phrases like " he, Cromwell, looked over at…' – just to make sure.

So it was easier to consume. It was variously very interesting, or not as interesting as it could have been. 'Not a very interesting part of history', 'been done to death already'… 'You know how it ends'… but for others the 'camera on the shoulder' approach to a historical narrative was spell-binding and lent the period a very fresh perspective.

The book undoubtedly presented a thoroughly absorbing characterisation of Thomas Cromwell who was clearly so hugely influential in the politics of the time – and no-one has done this before. The parallel was drawn, somewhat tongue in cheek, with Tony Soprano – a kind of tragic hero, highly intelligent, totally obsessed with his role, the expansion of his influence and the fortunes of his own (what remained of them) – but also revelling in the ability to make or break others.

I think we all felt that at times there was a bit too much context, detail and innuendo being trowelled on. The line between accurate history and historical novel was constantly blurred, and for some this was an issue – do you believe in it (or doubt it) as an account of what actually happened, or do you suspend your disbelief, let Mantel guide you through her quite fruity interpretation of events and enjoy the journey?

For some this is a tremendous book – painting a vivid and utterly absorbing picture of a part of history of which we have no digital evidence, no photographs, no YouTube footage. She give you the tools to run the movie in your head, in Technicolour. Equally I don't think anyone felt this was a really awful book - or not as bad as perhaps was feared. Some wished Mantel had perhaps taken her historical 'responsibilities' a little more seriously and told us more about the direct influence that Cromwell had on the way the country was governed. Others just wished she'd get on with it and tell the story.

I'm not sure if HM has confirmed that a third part is to be published, though noises of the kind have been heard. Perhaps that is where we'll learn more about the way Cromwell worked when not managing the King's rather sad and desperate obsession with producing a healthy male heir. If it comes, I will read it, but perhaps will stop short of inflicting it on the assembled multitude!