Rereading Tudor History: A New Historicist Analysis of Hilary Mantels Bring Up the Bodies

Name of Author : Maria Rincy

Abstract: This paper examines Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel through the theoretical framework of New Historicism. The study explores how Mantel revisits Tudor history and reconstructs the political events surrounding the fall of Anne Boleyn by presenting them from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell. Traditionally remembered as the hammer of the monks and a ruthless political figure, Cromwell is reinterpreted in the novel as an intelligent and pragmatic statesman shaped by the social and political forces of his time. By combining historical records with imaginative narrative techniques, Mantel offers a new reading of the Tudor period and highlights the complex relationship between literature and history. Using the ideas of Stephen Greenblatt, Catherine Belsey and Michael Delahoyde, the paper analyses how historical fiction functions as a cultural document that reflects the ideological and political tensions of its age. Mantels narrative demonstrates that history is not a fixed or objective record but a discourse open to reinterpretation. Through detailed characterisation and the reconstruction of historical events, the novel reveals how power, politics and personal ambition shaped Tudor England. The study argues that Mantels work exemplifies the New Historicist view that literary texts and historical contexts are inseparably connected and that historical meaning is continually reshaped through narrative representation.

Keywords : New Historicism; Historical Fiction; Thomas Cromwell; Tudor History.

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