I am currently watching
Wolf Hall, a 2015 BBC release (available also thru Prime Video - Amazon.com).
I have finished 3 of the 6 episodes, and I can't say enough about this excellent TV mini-series. There were so many scenes that I will always remember, like images that recall some of Vermeer's paintings, only these are in motion.
The acting is excellent, the dialogue, the choreography, the music, the costumes, everything, and the story (so quiet and gentle) records an extraordinarily intense time in British Tudor history. Well worth watching!
"After the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, finds himself amongst the treachery and intrigue of King Henry VIII's court and soon becomes a close advisor to the King, a role fraught with danger."
This series is an extraordinary accurate historical rendering of the life of Thomas Cromwell - an adaptation of the first two books (of the trilogy of Thomas Cromwell's life) by
Hilary Mantel (who won Bookers for both books). The third book in the series has just came out (2020), and I now have all three books stored on my Kobo... which I am also reading.
In a most excellent documentary on Hilary Mantel, where she discusses her personal life, her books, etc., she talks about how Thomas Cromwell contributed to "the Reformation, in giving the Bible in English to the people, and establishing Parliament as a ruling force". I saw this documentary on TV, but it is available on YouTube (
Hilary Mantel: Return to Wolf Hall (2020):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDG-N5Z4POU
As an aside, from Wikipedia:
"During her twenties, Mantel had a debilitating and painful illness. She was initially diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, hospitalised, and treated with antipsychotic drugs, which reportedly produced psychotic symptoms. In consequence, Mantel refrained from seeking help from doctors for some years. Finally, in Botswana and desperate, she consulted a medical textbook and realised she was probably suffering from a severe form of endometriosis, a diagnosis confirmed by doctors in London. The condition and necessary surgery left her unable to have children and continued to disrupt her life. Continued treatment by steroids caused weight gain and radically changed her appearance."
