'Wolf Hall's "The Devil's Spit" Is the Anti-'Man for All Seasons'
In one of the most remarkable episodes of Wolf Hall's first season, Hillary Mantel takes the plot of the famous Oscar-winning film A Man For All Seasons and argues that actually, Thomas More was a self-centered fool. Meanwhile, Anne may have nurtured her way to be queen, but nature is refusing to cooperate.
Cromwell: Holy simplicity was all very well in its day, but its day is over.
Henry VIII's parade of six wives in a decade has been mined for drama almost since his life ended. There have been countless retellings about the King who turned an entire country and its religious practices on its ear so that he could legally divorce, remarry, and sire a male heir. (That he then proceeded to divorce, behead, or be outlived by four women in succession was just gravy.) From silly vaudeville songs to sexy late-night dramas to hit musicals, everyone wanted to dig into Henry's story; even Shakespeare wrote about it.
