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Wolf Hall returns with the thrilling final instalment of Hilary Mantel鈥檚 magisterial trilogy, based on the life and death of Thomas Cromwell.

The Mirror and the Light opens in the heartbeat after Anne Boleyn鈥檚 death, as the young queen鈥檚 blood is sluiced from the scaffold and Thomas Cromwell picks his way across the wreckage to take up his position as principal councillor to an unpredictable king.

Despite his lowly beginnings in a Putney blacksmith鈥檚 forge, Cromwell has made a reputation for himself as one of England鈥檚 most formidable politicians. On the day of the queen鈥檚 death, he is at the height of his powers. He has found a bloody way for the king to escape his marriage, pinning Anne Boleyn and her circle to crimes they could never have imagined. He has delivered her to the Calais swordsman鈥檚 blade. He has smoothed the path for the king鈥檚 marriage to his third wife, Jane Seymour. And he has been rewarded well. Now both master secretary and lord privy seal, there are few parts of the state鈥檚 business that do not pass over his desk.

But in rising so high, Cromwell has also attracted powerful enemies. Anne Boleyn鈥檚 uncle, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, will never forgive him for his part in displacing the aristocracy in his ascent to power. Margaret Pole, daughter of the old families with a rival claim to the throne of England, sees in him an upstart lieutenant to a barely legitimate king. Not to mention his brazen insolence in pushing through his own agenda for religious reform, to which even the king offers only partial support. But power is lonely, and Cromwell has few friends. His loyal ward Rafe Sadler is now one of the king鈥檚 gentlemen, his son Gregory is young and green, his secretary Thomas Wriothesley cannot be trusted, and the men with whom he sits on the Privy Council are more rivals than allies. His only constant is the memory of his mentor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, and his consolation is the running conversation with Wolsey that he has in the privacy of his rooms when the noise of the day has fallen still.

But there is little time for nostalgia in Henry鈥檚 court. Newly married, and with the hopeful prospect of a male heir at last, Henry鈥檚 attention turns to securing the succession. His daughter Elizabeth is an infant, but Mary is a threat, and her adherence to the old religion makes her an enticing prospect for the king鈥檚 enemies. As the king鈥檚 anger rises to a crescendo, Cromwell is tasked with neutralising the threat. While the rest of the Privy Council watch in appalled fascination, convinced that the lowborn Cromwell has been instructed to execute the king鈥檚 daughter, Cromwell himself embarks on an act of delicate diplomacy, persuading the Lady Mary to set aside her faith and declare allegiance to her father as head of the new Church of England. His success opens new avenues of danger for him, as rumours begin to circulate about his own intentions towards one so near to the throne.