Mistress Cromwell

by Carol McGrath

The powerful, evocative new novel by the critically acclaimed author of The Handfasted Wife, The Woman in the Shadows presents the rise of Thomas Cromwell, Tudor England's most powerful statesman, through the eyes of his wife Elizabeth.

When beautiful cloth merchant’s daughter Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of twenty-two, she is determined to make herself a success in the business she has learned from her father. But there are those who oppose a woman making her own way in the world, and soon Elizabeth realises she may have some powerful enemies – enemies who also know the truth about her late husband… 

Security – and happiness – comes when Elizabeth is introduced to kindly, ambitious merchant turned lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage is one based on mutual love and respect…but it isn’t always easy being the wife of an influential, headstrong man in Henry VIII’s London. The city is filled with ruthless people and strange delights – and Elizabeth realises she must adjust to the life she has chosen…or risk losing everything.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Tudor Period, British Literature, 16th Century

385 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2017

About the author

My first degree is in History and English from Queens University Belfast. I have a postgraduate MA in writing from Queens University and an Mphil in writing from The Royal Holloway ,University of London. My debut novel The Handfasted Wife is the first in a Trilogy The Daughters of Hastings. The first is the story of 1066 and its aftermath from the perspective of the noble women. The Swan-Daughter and The Betrothed Sister have followed. All have been best sellers. My new novel The Woman in the Shadows tells the tale of Thomas and Elizabeth Cromwell and is the story of an early Tudor marriage. I am now working on a medieval trilogy about 'she wolf' queens.

Reviews

[Tony Riches · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carol McGrath’s The Woman in The Shadows is my latest favourite book. I recall being intrigued by the character of Elizabeth Cromwell after reading Wolf Hall, particularly after David Starkey’s assertion that the notion of Thomas Cromwell as a loving family man is total fiction.

Now we have a new book siding with Hilary Mantel – from Elizabeth’s point of view. Written in the first person, this touching and evocative account makes impressive use of the few known facts of Elizabeth’s life.

We are transported to a dangerous and dirty Tudor London, where you need to look over your shoulder and watch for cutpurses. I loved the details of daily life, of the Tudor attitudes to birth, marriage and death - and feel I understand what life was like as a medieval cloth merchant.

In an inspired break from the conventional timeline, we dip into the past for entire chapters. It reminded me of watching a skilled portrait artist at work, with increasing detail over broader brushwork until the result is three dimensional.

I cared about Elizabeth Cromwell. I worried about the way women were treated. I cheered at Elizabeth’s achievements and groaned at her mistakes. I could not put this book down. Highly recommended.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a huge fan of the Tudor era, I jumped at the chance to join the blog tour for The Woman in the Shadows. There’s no denying that Thomas Cromwell played a crucial part in history but very little is known about his wife Elizabeth. This story is told through her eyes and so while the story was obviously thoroughly researched and adheres to facts, a lot of it is fiction which I must say I didn’t object to at all as the story flows seamlessly.

Elizabeth is a young widow when she meets Thomas. She’s determined to make a success of herself but the streets of London are full of danger and no safe place for a woman. Through the years, as we follow the rise of Thomas Cromwell, Elizabeth’s life goes through many changes. From being a widow struggling to survive to being a gentlewoman with a big household, she must also accept that maybe there are things she’s better off not knowing as her husband becomes more ambitious and works his way up from being a merchant and a lawyer to being in the employ of Cardinal Wolsey.

Now, let me just say that I was a little disappointed that I didn’t learn anything about life at court. However, that’s my own fault as I didn’t know Elizabeth had passed away before Thomas “made it big”, so to speak. I must clearly brush up on my history. Despite that, I still thoroughly enjoyed learning about daily life in the early Tudor days, especially as a woman. Women who were more often than not left in the dark from whatever shenanigans their husbands got up to.

From the rituals that were followed when a child was born to those that were in place when someone died and even marriage betrothals, these things were truly fascinating to read about. Thankfully some have gone out of fashion! The novel also gives a glimpse into life as cloth merchant which I knew nothing about and all the intricacies of running a household. Overall, I take quite a lot away from this novel and it’s a very fine addition to my Tudor collection.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Woman in the Shadows" is the story of Elizabeth, the wealthy daughter of a cloth merchant who is determined to be the master of her own success in a time where it was unseemly to do so. Married and widowed at a young age, Elizabeth is actually hopeful that her widowhood will give her more flexibility to pursue her own passions. And then she meets Thomas Cromwell (yes, that one) and her life will change as her life suddenly revolves around what is going on at court.

I know that I've said this but I'll say it again: I love how history books and historical fiction (perhaps more so historical fiction) gives us the ability to see historical figures in a different way. Our history books are mostly limited to a few facets of a single person. Thomas Cromwell is definitely one of those people where there seems to be the same focus on him in many different places so it was interesting to see him as a spouse to Elizabeth and a parent to children, facets not often focused on since Cromwell and what he did in his life seems so tied to Henry VIII.

And Elizabeth herself is such a fascinating character. We get to know her well before she meets Cromwell. Her first marriage is one of convenience. Her husband is kind to her but is using her to protect himself from the scrutiny of having a male lover. They respect each other but it is by no means a love match. Even after her husband's death, Elizabeth cannot fully escape his shadow, a thread that plays over and over again in surprising ways throughout the book.

I loved seeing a different point of view of Cromwell and this book shows that there still may be stories yet to uncover about the Tudors. It exemplifies why the Tudors and those on the periphery of their court continue to inspire curiosity about uncovering more about them!

[Juliew. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I've never been a fan of Thomas Cromwell in the Tudor's story I can say that I adored this book.It is told from the pov of his wife and I thought on the whole it was authentic,believable,well written,never boring,atmospheric and a well spent 3.00 on Kindle.Although,something struck me about Thomas Cromwell's portrayal in this as being off but perhaps that was just my bias towards him.After all he never remarried.

[Linda Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a woman in the C16th isn’t always the easiest thing to be.

Ooh, I really enjoyed The Woman in the Shadows because Carol McGrath writes with such vivid descriptions that appeal to all the senses. It’s rare to have such an effective feeling of touch when reading, but the quality of the fabrics, the silks and furs was so sumptuous that I could sense them under my fingers. Carol McGrath conveys the stench of London, the taste of sugared fruits, the sounds and sights of pageantry and poverty so evocatively I was there with Elizabeth Cromwell.

The quality of research that has been woven into such a fascinating narrative is so skilfully presented. I learnt an incredible amount about the times in which the book is set. I loved the depiction of society, religion, social convention and the role of women whilst I read this hugely entertaining story. Whilst I had a vague knowledge of the times, Carol McGrath has presented an oft forgotten aspect of our history – the place of women – so brilliantly that I now have a completely different perspective.

I thought the all characters were realistic, human and striking so that I felt I came to know them intimately. I experienced Elizabeth’s anxieties with her as she dealt with the intrigues surrounding her life. I’m not sure if I like Cromwell any more or less having read The Woman in the Shadows, but I certainly understand him more.

The plot of The Woman in the Shadows is entertaining and engaging, but what I really enjoyed the most was the ordinary daily details that gave me such an insight into the peoples and the times; the sewing and preparation of meals, the clothing and the servants all wove a tapestry of colour I thoroughly enjoyed.

I think The Woman in the Shadows is a must read for anyone remotely interested in history. Or, indeed, for anyone who simply wants a really good book.

[Hanna (lapetiteboleyn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuinely interesting look at one of history's most infamous characters. Cromwell is as elusive and clever as you might expect, while Elizabeth provides a suitably innocent contrast. There are some good bits - the descriptions and explanations about what it meant to be a merchant in the Tudor era were fascinating, and there are some less good bits (I could have gone my whole life without having to imagine Thomas Cromwell having sex.)

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When beautiful cloth merchant’s daughter Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of twenty-two, she is determined to make herself a success in the business she has learned from her father. But there are those who oppose a woman making her own way in the world, and soon Elizabeth realizes she may have some powerful enemies – enemies who also know the truth about her late husband…
Security – and happiness – comes when Elizabeth is introduced to kindly, ambitious merchant turned lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage is one based on mutual love and respect…but it isn’t always easy being the wife of an influential, headstrong man in Henry VIII’s London. The city is filled with ruthless people and strange delights – and Elizabeth realizes she must adjust to the life she has chosen…or risk losing everything"

I have called this novel "powerful", and it was to me..and "groundbreaking" because few facts are available to the public about the wife of Thomas Cromwell, excepting for her name and her death date. Additionally, again for me, this family has not been "overdone" in fiction although the Tudors themselves perhaps have been.

I preface this review to say two things: one is that I received this ARC for a review and secondly, that I hope there is a sequel of some sorts ( Gregory Cromwell and/or Richard Williams). This author's prior work that I am most familiar with, was a family series involving three book.

This evocative story begins with a preface, that shows how Elizabeth's life will be in 1526, then jumps to Part One, which is when she is widowed from Tom Williams. On that occasion she is reintroduced, as an adult with Thomas Cromwell ( who she may have met in childhood).

Carol McGrath,in her fine author note, indicates that any "inventions" are a novelist's prerogative, but emerge from facts which are in existence, from her historian perspective. She also handles "time jumps" adroitly and in a way that enhances the story.

It was very satisfying to me to be able to read about the Cromwells' life together, and to put flesh on their bones, as the saying goes. It seems to have been a good life lived in very difficult times, poised as they were on a religious reformation with many societal norms being thrown asunder.

Many of the associates and staff of Thomas Cromwell and "Lizzie", as she was called, had their life station rise as their employer's did. We do know that in these perilous times life was precarious. This family dared to challenge some norms and consequences occurred.

I recommend this book to all historical novel lovers as well as some Tudor fans, although Henry and his queens were only backdrops to how this story is told. Masterful!

[BookAddict · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since Hillary Mantle’s Cromwell trilogy, I’ve been fascinated by the mystery of this man - much as I’ve been fascinated by the mystery of Richard III. Human or monster, depending on which side of the historical political fence one sits on, but one thing is pretty certain - in an age when being single was frowned upon and fraught with suspicion, Cromwell must have dearly loved his wife as he never remarried when she died and he was not an old man when that occurred. It is that premise upon which this book is written as little is known of Mrs. Elizabeth Cromwell.

I liked but didn’t love this - it’s well written and the author dies a good job of fleshing Elizabeth out of thin air, but I never truly warmed to the story even though it was so well written. It ends rather abruptly prior to her death and illness, and before Cromwell truly becomes Wolsey’s right hand man and the ascension of Anne Boleyn. It almost begs for a sequel.

Well written, good pacing and interesting characters; this was still a good read and well worth the effort.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carol McGrath has definitely found her way into my favourite historical fiction authors this year.

As a huge fan of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy, I have certainly considered Thomas Cromwell in a different light and this book has helped to suggest how he was in his younger years before the influences of the court and the King took over his life.
The fictional suggestion of his marriage to his wife Elizabeth is one based on love and as he never remarried following her death, I believe it was indeed one of love and not convenience.

The life of an independent Tudor widow who then becomes a great housewife and raises her family and those children they welcome into their home as apprentices, was fascinating. The religious aspect of Thomas Cromwell and his desire to help those who questioned the Roman Catholic faith was also brought forwards, showing that he was a forward-thinking humanist and that he disliked the greed he saw from those highly ensconced within the religion, including the great wealth of the monasteries and cardinals, helping to provide his justification of the reformation.

The book gave a really good contrast between the working and middle class Tudor people when often many Tudor novels are based around the court and significant figures.
The King, Queen Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn are just distant characters mentioned in conversations, very much as I’m sure most people still discuss the royal families and their private lives in modern times. So the book had a very grounded approach to Tudor life in London.
A very enjoyable read.

[Keira Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilary Mantel made her husband sympathetic, but Mistress Cromwell remained a shadowy figure. In this novel she she steps into the spotlight to take her place as an example of the bedrock of English bourgeois London in Henrican England. She is a sympathetic figure who represents the values it is likely most moderate English people shared. Not surprisingly, it led to disagreements with her more radical husband and this is handled well. Small domestic conflicts, the kind that any couple experience in any age, add to the charm of the narrative. I thought it a lovely book and recommend it with pleasure.

[Ruth Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder whether there's a follow up to this? I loved the writing, and the story was interesting, but it covered Thomas Cromwell's early career and not his rise from Wolsey's ashes, a very interesting story, especially if written from his wife's point of view! This is a great book and an interesting historical read, well worth anyone's time, in my opinion, thanks for writing it! xx

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good read, makes you understand what it feels like to be a rich widow in the 1500s Tudor era. To also be married to an empowered husband who is very close to the courts. It’s a shame there is very minimal true facts regarding this lady on the internet.

[Sunbum84 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Perspective

Having read Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies, I thoroughly enjoyed this view of Thomas Cromwell from Elizabeth's perspective. McGrath humanized one of the most notorious characters of Tudor England. Since so little is known about Elizabeth Cromwell, the author did an excellent job of building her story into an exploration of everyday commoner life. Well worth the read. Cromwell remains one of my favorite subjects and a careful examination of Tudor history reveals how influential he was during Henry VIII reign.

[Tanchira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mistress Cromwell (Kindle Edition) by Carol McGrath - 2*

I have mixed feelings about this book. I started reading it after I finished Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy (I felt bereft). I also read Tracy Borman's biography of Thomas Cromwell (yes, I am hung up on this man) before reading this fictional story told from his wife's point of view.

While I found Mistress Cromwell to be a quick and easy read with some good moments to commend it, the book also let me down in a few ways.

~The Bad~
-As a pedant, I found the proofreading and text formatting in this edition (I read it on Kobo) to be of dreadful quality, which made my reading experience considerably worse. Below are the main issues.
--Commas: There were commas where they were not needed at all (so it looked something like this: "Mother said that Joan, and I should get ready.") and there were no commas where they are ordinarily required -- notably, many of the instances of reported speech (" 'Blah.' he said." should be " 'Blah,' he said.") or after someone's name when they are being addressed (so it would look something like this: " 'Thomas I told you not to wear that!' ").
--Dashes: Instead of em dashes or en dashes, a hyphen plus a space was used, so it looked something like this: "He said, 'What do you think you are do- ' ".
--Quotation marks: Sometimes, the curly quotation marks were backwards, and sometimes they were just straight quotation marks or straight apostrophes.
--Question marks: Some phrases that were questions did not end in question marks, while some phrases that were not questions did end in question marks.
--Italics and indents: Titles of publications and names of ships were not italicised and quoted text from letters etc. were not indented differently from the rest of the text.
--Typos: There were instances where whole words were missing from sentences. They were mostly small words like prepositions. At other times, words were in the wrong order, as if someone had badly rewritten that sentence and then failed to proofread it.
--Random double full stops: More than once, paragraphs ended with two full stops in a row (..). I don’t know whether this was intended, if they were unfinished ellipses, or if they were just typos.
--Name consistency: Elizabeth, the narrator/point-of-view character, was called both Lizzy and Lizzie interchangeably! I know the two different spellings don't change how the diminutive name sounds, but they look different on the page and that drives me nuts. Pick a lane, lady.
--Tenses: The narration starts in the present tense and then Elizabeth recalls something that happened years earlier, so naturally, she switches to past tense. That's fine. However, sometimes a chapter that you think is supposed to be all in present tense suddenly switches to past tense, sometimes within the same paragraph or even in the same sentence, so you're left wondering at what point in the timeline we are!

-Time jumps: As mentioned above, the narration switches between the "present" time and various periods in the recent past. This gets a little bit disorientating when you're marathoning the book before bedtime. Also, it begs the question, why didn't we just start the story at the "beginning" in chronological order? That would be less dramatically interesting, perhaps, but as the book stands, it makes me feel like Elizabeth's "present" is not as interesting and action-packed as her past, because she reminisces about previous years much more than she tells me what is happening to her "today", and that makes me feel a bit sad for her.
-Is Elizabeth an independent-minded early modern woman who wants to run her own lucrative cloth trade or is she a wealthy housewife who runs her own household and not much else other than making a few fabric sample books every few months? Before she married Cromwell, yes, she said she wanted to be an independent business-owning widow and was loath to let men such as her father take the reins. She even said that she didn't want to have children because they would take up time that she wanted to spend on her own pursuits. But when she marries Cromwell, she puts up very little resistance. Yes, there is some regret, but overall, she seems to me to be pretty content to just run her household and make those fabric sample books. Girl, what happened to you? I suppose her one act of rebellion was to bring Tyndale's passport to him when she was supposed to be staying at home to protect herself from Master Northleach, but she was punished for this bit of "meddling" by the coldness of her husband, who had to clean up the mess. Thomas Cromwell to the rescue once again.
-Speaking of which, the "meet-cute" where Thomas Cromwell appears seemingly out of nowhere to rescue Elizabeth and her apprentices when they're attacked was a bit predictable, in my opinion.
-I found the cattiness between Elizabeth and some of the minor female characters a bit tedious. I know some people do enjoy this sort of "Real Housewives" reality show type drama, but it's just not for me -- not unless it has far-ranging consequences. The bit where she finds the book of flowers in her husband's coat and sees it was given to him by another woman just reminded me too much of women on Facebook or Reddit saying, "Help, I went through my boyfriend's/husband's phone, and I found messages from some other woman! How do I confront him?" -- and I'm just so over it. Surely there's more to women's lives than being jealous of each other, even in Tudor times? I suppose this just goes to show that the minor female characters in this book are mostly pretty one-dimensional -- either sweetness and light or unredeemed spiteful shrews -- and the one person with really nuanced shades of grey in this book is Thomas Cromwell himself. And that "other woman" subplot didn't really go anywhere in the end. Elizabeth and Thomas just wage a very minor cold war against each other but then all is forgiven, essentially. It's not like she had to fight for her legitimate children's inheritance or anything like that.
-If you don't know how Elizabeth Cromwell died in real life, you might find the ending of this book a bit abrupt and unclear. Spoiler: She died of the sweating sickness. I feel a bit let down that the book ended before her death. The author went to the trouble of taking us through Elizabeth's first experience of childbirth and yet she doesn't bother to tell us how Elizabeth's final day on earth unfolded. I heartily commend some other books that were not afraid to "go there" and did take me through the death of the point-of-view character, such as Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light, Alison Weir's Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen (I was devastated, especially because I listened to the audiobook of it!), and Philippa Gregory's The King's Curse.
-Elizabeth and her first husband's dreadful secret was that he was a closeted gay man. Okay, sure, that does conveniently explain why they didn't have any children (another plausible explanation could have been the fictionalised Thomas Williams’ infertility). But did they have to make so much out of the fact that Thomas Williams (the fictional one, at least) had a taste for fancy clothing? Regardless of whether the historical man had such tastes or not, I just felt a bit uncomfortable with this, as if I was being told, "See, of course this closeted gay man had great fashion sense!" Gay men aren't all the same, and straight men can have a taste for fancy clothes too. Again, this reminded me too much of women on Facebook and Reddit saying, "If your man only wants to have a*** s** with you, he must be gay!"
-The unmasking of the culprits of the house fire was a bit anticlimactic for me for some reason. Sure, the invented house fire added a bit of drama to the story, but the fact that the culprits turned out to be supporters of the Inquisition somehow did not wow me (maybe I did expect the Spanish Inquisition?), I guess because that subplot ended there and didn't lead anywhere else. I imagine if someone like Dan Brown wrote this book, the arsonist supporters of the Inquisition would have been the whole point of the story! I actually found the Joan and John Williamson subplot more satisfying. Maybe the whole house fire subplot didn't impress me that much because I knew that Elizabeth was going to marry Thomas Cromwell and die a rich woman who had servants helping her look after her kids.
-How often does anyone in real life bite their lower lip until they can taste blood? I don't know, but Elizabeth Cromwell seems to do it more often than is necessary.

~The Good~
-I enjoyed the descriptions of cloths, foods, drinks, and other aspects of everyday life in Tudor times.
-I liked that the book was quite dialogue-driven. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters.
-Although the part about Jane's mother was invented, I appreciated this theory about who the historical "Jane Cromwell" may have been (and I'm glad that I read Tracy Borman's biography of Thomas Cromwell before I read Mistress Cromwell, or I'd have no idea who they were talking about).

~TL;DR~
I found this book to be a pretty light and entertaining read, but I was underwhelmed and frustrated by the poor proofreading/text formatting of the Kobo edition as well as the relative inconsequence of Elizabeth's domestic life.

~Conclusion~
I suppose it's not fair to compare the life of a wealthy housewife who died young to that of a statesman who spearheaded religious reform throughout a whole kingdom, or that of a queen whose marriage forever changed the relationship between England and Rome. Maybe I missed something, but I'm not sure what the author wanted to accomplish with this story. Sure, she succeeded in showing me what the Cromwells' home life may have been like. Those are fun details to think about. But she didn't make me go, "Wow, Elizabeth Cromwell was really important in the grand scheme of things. I never knew she was so interesting! Why don't people talk more about her?" Those were the kinds of thoughts I had when I read about Mary Boleyn or Katherine of Aragon. Compared to Mistress Cromwell, I was more interested in the subplot about Queen Katherine's servants in the Starz TV show The Spanish Princess, or the fictional character Hannah Green in Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool.

So is Mistress Cromwell's flaw simply that she was a relatively ordinary wealthy woman who did ordinary things who happened to be married to a pretty extraordinary man who did extraordinary things? Maybe. The book's blurb and the tagline on the front cover, "Behind every great man..." were probably more exciting than the character herself. I appreciate that very little evidence remains of the historical Elizabeth Cromwell, but perhaps the author was a bit too restrained with where she took the story. She could have taken advantage of some low-hanging fruit and turned Elizabeth into a Lady Macbeth figure who fanned the flames of her husband's ambition. She could have made Elizabeth a frustrated unpublished writer, composer, or mathematician whose work is lost to history (maybe in that house fire!). She could have given Elizabeth a wicked sense of humour, really peculiar turns of phrase, or even a bunch of PTSD (again, because of that house fire and the attack on her and her apprentices)! But no. Based on this novel, I’m not convinced that this fictionalised Thomas Cromwell didn’t marry Elizabeth purely for her looks, her riches and her connections, and the author could have turned that into a plot point (‘Thomas, honestly, why did you ask for my hand in marriage?’), but she didn’t. Instead, Mistress Cromwell seems to be little more than someone who watches bigger personalities do bigger things around her. Apart from the Tyndale episode, she's not in the middle of the action when events of historical significance happen. All this is not to say that Elizabeth Cromwell doesn't deserve to be remembered. Absolutely everyone is special to someone, somewhere, no matter how unremarkable they may seem to outsiders. But I don't generally get excited about stories in which the main character just carries on with their life without too much difficulty while events of historical importance, often with violent repercussions, just happen around them.

2/5 - It was fun to read just once but I don't think I'll be reading it again. The ups and downs of Elizabeth’s life just weren’t dramatic enough for me. I cared a little bit about her troubles, but they all seemed to be resolved without too much hassle or lasting damage.

[kathleen r. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I had hoped

Generally I enjoy reading MS. McGrath but this one isn't very good. The history is fairly accurate but the style, of first person narrative, reads almost like a diary or a journal of a most unhappy and anxiety ridden woman. The text drifts from present to past and back again and to my general dismay it's pretty boring stuff. There's quite a great deal of weird little details like fabric and sumptuary law, the odd rule which prescribed the types of clothing people could or couldn't wear, the overall presumption that fine fabrics in colorful textures or patterns might be skies an indicator of rank with the best always available only to royalty, wealthy or noble people, while peasants, tradesmen and servants were fiercely prohibited from the better or best materials available and allowed. That makes sense considering if you were poor, you wouldn't have had any money to spend on rich fabric and well tailored articles of clothing in any case. Of course it goes without saying that clothing, much like housing or other property was always an indication of status and wealth. That's how success seems always to be measured, no matter what time period you lived. Much like today we judge people on the clothes they wear and the cars they drive, status is everything. Essential to the caste of life. But knowing this so much of the book focused only on those points and not on the actual facts of Elizabeth Cromwell is life. Trite phrases repeated ad infinitum. The love of her life but a bitter and secretive, jealous and vindictive man who controlled every bit of the power in a relationship. That was the norm and not the exception but this is also the reign of Henry VIII, so not exactly an era of women's lib! Maybe it's that so little is known about Elizabeth that much of the book is sheer imagination and speculation. Other than the cold facts gleaned from the few public records that have survived the woman, as so many others is just unknown. So there really isn't much to say about her other than that she lived in this time and under those circumstances that were the norm for the lives led by all.
Because so much of the book is speculation and assumption there isn't much of a story to tell. Scenes just didn't tell, the action was dull and repetitive, with boring little peeks of a life that was fraught with risk no matter what you were doing. Child bearing, nutrition, finance, housing, and of course, clothing. This is sort of thrown out along with one or two acerbic "comments" because we really don't know what took place or what might have been done. It's all just guesswork and I was disappointed because I think the book was thrown together without a clear idea or maybe a striking occurrence to rescue it from tedium. As for a conclusion the book just ends. There isn't any action or dramatic flair the page turns and the book is finished. I don't think this one is worth the time it took from any other thing I might have been doing. I won't say it's a waste of time but it's close. If there had been any type of p!it or something of note that happened in this poor woman's life other than her untimely death from the sweat (a mysterious illness known mostly for it's rapid onset and almost100% fatality rate) then this book might have been more interesting. As a stand alone novel it just misses any point of interest or desire to learn more about her. Of note: Elizabeth died just before Thomas Cromwell, the King's own Chancellor, was executed for treason for failing to provide Henry8 with a suitable 4fh wife. Anne of Clever did not appeal to the conceited and grotesque monarch and for that failure, he was decapitated. So much for being the King's good servant. Apparently Cromwell simply had bad taste in women.

[Mrs. Moira McGeough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Cromwell is a well drawn,sympathetic character and depicts how women of this era were viewed and limited by society. To carve a place in the cloth trade as a widow would have taken great strength of character and it is known that there were women, (usually widows), who managed to continue family trades after the death of their spouses. The everyday activities of daily life in a busy, Tudor age house hold were well portrayed, as were the customs surrounding birth, death and religious customs. Carol McGrath's descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells at home and in the streets are very good. All in all a good read.

[Carol Beckman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting account of Tudor life

I enjoyed this book as it drew a picture of life at the times for a middle class woman in London. Anyone hoping for a gripping plot will be disappointed.

Very little is known of Elizabeth Cromwell so this is mostly a work of imagination and fiction and reads like a diary marking the main events and festivals of day to day life.

[caffeinated reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of Elizabeth Cromwell, before Thomas Cromwell's ascendancy, entrenchment, and downfall at the court of King Henry VIII. Nothing really earth-shaking happens in this book but it's an easy read and offers a glimpse of the life of regular folks in the early 1500s.

[Helen Hollick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has received a Discovering Diamonds Review:
Helen Hollick
founder #DDRevs
'This novel explores Elizabeth’s life and marriage in an engaging and entertaining way. '

[Miss J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not yet best

Starts off really good but towards the middle you realise nothing is happening. Struggled to finish it. Shamed as her other books are fab.

[Tom Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carol McGrath has left the 11th century to add yet another book to the already crowded shelves of Tudor novels.

Elizabeth Cromwell's world is dominated by females. She herself is a successful businesswoman. As the widow of a draper, it is credible to suppose that she might have taken over her dead husband's business and become successful in her own right. She is not, though, ever totally accepted or trusted by the men who dominate the Guild, so she comes to rely on the network of women around her: her mother, her sister, her sister-in-law and her servants. The book shows the power that women could wield in this almost parallel feminine society, but it does not romanticise their position in the wider world. Women are physically weaker and always at risk of assault from men. Elizabeth is initially forced by her father into a marriage she does not want, to a man who can never love her. She almost loses her business when her store of cloth is burned down by men, and she has to stand helplessly by while her own male servants try to deal with the damage. When she is attacked and robbed she relies on men to drive off her assailants. When she marries Cromwell (a true love match) it is to the man in her life that she turns when she is threatened with legal action by another draper. When she finds herself crossed by an old suitor, it is her husband who deals with the matter.

McGrath strikes a fine balance between Elizabeth Cromwell the successful independent businesswoman and Elizabeth Cromwell the victim of a potentially violent and sexist society. We understand her reliance on men and, at the same time, her fierce independence. It's significant, though, that in the end she gives up her job and her independence to take on the role of professional wife, entertaining Cromwell's friends as his political star rises.

McGrath’s book brings Elizabeth Cromwell out of the shadows but Cromwell himself becomes a very shadowy figure in his turn. We have glimpses of a man who is secretive and ruthless. When the ex-suitor suddenly vanishes, Thomas Cromwell tells Elizabeth only that he has been "lost at sea". She feels it wiser to ask no further questions. Her world is defined by her business, her religion (she is a good Catholic) and her family. She does not know exactly what Thomas is up to as he goes about England closing monasteries and, to the extent that she must have a fair idea of what is going on, she takes care not to understand. She worries about his heretical “humanist” views, but she does not really understand or challenge them. She suspects him of having had an affair, but when he does the Tudor equivalent of telling her not to worry her pretty little head about it, she agrees to ask no more questions. Yet it is Elizabeth who holds the Cromwell household together, raising the children, entertaining friends and associates, arranging marriages, concealing awkward pregnancies in the household and providing the base from which Cromwell can sally forth to battle in the masculine world and to which he returns to find the love and security that he clearly needs.

McGrath brings the world of the Tudor woman, from the dangers of childbirth to the daily business of running a home, to vivid life. There are fascinating details, such as the care taken in choosing fabrics so as not to break the laws governing what class can wear what trims on their dresses. Sometimes, inevitably, there can be a bit of a history lesson dropped in, but (especially as the book gets into its stride) most of the detail slips unobtrusively onto the page. McGrath has obviously done a great deal of research into her period, but she wears her learning lightly.

The story moves back and forth in time. I'm old-fashioned enough to prefer books that start at the beginning and finish at the end, but the characters are real enough and the descriptions so clear that the non-linear plot is unlikely to confuse the reader. The prose flows nicely and the story has enough incident to carry the reader along without becoming overly dramatic. (One exception is where Elizabeth is robbed. If I were in a strange city carrying a lot of cash, I wouldn't take a shortcut down a dark alley in the 21st-century, so I struggled with the idea that she would have done it in the 16th.) As in real life, some of the most dramatic things are never quite explained. Far from being a weakness, I think this is a strength. Exactly who was Sir Antony and who was the man whose dogs so conveniently arrived to stop him doing murder? In real life every villain is not tracked down, every crime is not neatly solved and many mysteries remain just that. Like Elizabeth Cromwell, we find ourselves in a Tudor world which can move from calm and beauty to sudden apparently irrational violence and we can only retreat into her home, bar the gate and hope that it will not bring us down.

McGrath has put a sympathetic woman into a beautifully realised world and told her story in lucid prose. It’s a lovely book and a refreshing counterpoint to some other recent Tudor bestsellers.

[Lisa Bristow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book. I was keen to see another side of Thomas Cromwell – this time through the eyes of his wife. But, in spite of my interest in the subject, it took me a number of months to get through the book. I’m trying to put my finger on why, and I think the story lacked enough momentum to keep me turning the page, and wanting to read chapter after chapter.

The book is written from the perspective of Elizabeth, Cromwell’s wife, and starts with the death of her first husband, Tom Williams. There’s something shameful in Williams’ past, and Elizabeth and her household almost pay the price for that early on in the book.

The story shifts between vignettes of the present (1526) and the past, and shows Cromwell in a largely domestic setting. His marriage to Elizabeth is doubly blessed - a love match as well as a convenient way to shore up Cromwell’s connections within the London cloth trade. Cromwell is deeply loyal to his family. As well as being warm and loving with both his wife and their children, he’s also keen to fold members of the wider family into the embrace of his ever-growing business, creating opportunities for them they could never have dreamed of.

In spite of this warm portrayal, the book does not shy away from Cromwell’s ambition. He has a core of steel which is amply demonstrated when he is crossed by anyone who threatens his family, his life or his business interests. Even Elizabeth finds herself on the wrong side of this on several occasions.

What I liked

The book is clearly well-researched, and readers will learn a lot about the lives of the Merchant class in London both at work and at home. There are some lovely little details. I particularly liked how McGrath weaved Elizabeth’s jellies into the well-known tale of Cromwell's trip to Rome to lobby the Pope.

I was delighted to see Elizabeth portrayed as a business woman. The book shows that women in Tudor times were ambitious for their own business as well as that of their husband. And yet the book makes it clear that this freedom only stretched so far. Elizabeth is still very much ruled by Cromwell as the head of the household, and has little say in many important areas of her life.

What I struggled with

The language is a mix of contemporary and 16th Century English. I am well-used to historical terms being used to describe items and activities in historical fiction, but some uses of the older English called attention to themselves as I read through the book and interrupted the flow of the sentences and the story.

While the story had some elements of jeopardy - in relation to her first husband, a former suitor and Cromwell’s sympathy for evangelicals (which was heretical at the time) - these all seemed to be easily managed, usually by Thomas using contacts to save the day. I feel these could have been developed further, heightening the tension and intrigue of the novel.

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know when you finish an historical book and your first thought is to research more of the characters and period of history, then it has completely enthralled you and the author has done a first rate job! That is exactly what happened when I finished the last page of The Woman in the Shadows as I was just itching to know more about the historical figures in this fascinating novel, and very clever too to put Cromwells' wife Elizabeth at the core of the story, as the story jumps from her past to her present alongside Cromwell, watching on as he becomes more involved in dealings with the court and the big players of the time.

The story of Elizabeth is a fascinating woman and very interesting to hear of life in the Tudor period from a womans' perspective - especially one who has been widowed at 22, to a man she never really loved but who had a secret and how she dealt with keeping that to protect him. After this marriage she is determined to marry for love next time round, not the done thing at that time! She works for her father as a cloth merchant and is well educated and as time goes on she impresses the other traders with her knowledge and eye for a good fabric.

On the day of her husbands funeral, Thomas Cromwell is introduced to her although it turns out they knew each other from childhood. She is smitten but rarely sees him and concentrates on the cloth business before he proposes. We then follow their lives together, the role women played in the lives of these powerful men, while raising a family and following through gossip the goings on between the King and the Queen at the time. It follows the family through different houses they lived in as their family grew - they had 3 children together - and people they came into contact withx

I ended up reading this in one afternoon as I was just intrigued by the story - I loved the way the storyline jumped backwards and forward so that many different elements of Elizabeth and her life could be witnessed. It also did a great job of humanizing a character I'd only read about in history books in Thomas Cromwell - it made you wonder what kind of man he really was and how those around him dealt with things he was involved in. Highly recommended!

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s always fascinating to be able to put flesh on the bones of a historical character who has, for so long, quite literally, been the woman standing in the shadow behind Henry VIII’s henchman, Thomas Cromwell. Those of us who devour Tudor history will know that there is very little recorded about Elizabeth Cromwell, and what is known is sometimes ambivalent. However, in The Woman in the Shadows, the author has taken the known facts about Elizabeth, that she was the daughter of a cloth merchant and that when she married her second husband, Thomas Cromwell, in around 1514, she was a wealthy widow, and by taking these facts and adding the author’s own interpretation, we have been treated to a fascinating story about the intricacies of Tudor life.
Reading about lives in the shadow is rather like having your very own cloak of invisibility as you get to witness both the intimate and the dramatic events of lives which have long passed. Reading a novel by a skilful author who has a natural ability for storytelling you are immediately immersed in past events. Spicy and strong, the sight, sounds and smells of a teeming city, with its cramped and crowded houses, and its spluttering gutters brings Tudor London to life in all its pungent glory. With skilful manoeuvring we walk the same streets as Elizabeth. We mourn the loss of her first husband and gently celebrate with her in her marriage to Thomas and in doing so we discover just what life was like in Tudor London for a woman of middling means and notable intellect.
Some authors have a natural ability to bring history alive and well researched and finely delivered historical fiction is a joy to read, as not only does it inform and educate but it also entertains on a high level. The Woman in the Shadows is one of those finely crafted stories by an author who knows and understands history and who gets right into the minutiae of Tudor life. This gives us a fascinating glimpse into the Cromwell marriage and allows us to see a very different side of the chameleon like statesman, and finally to get to see Elizabeth Cromwell as woman in her own right.

[Clare Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing a novel about a real person for whom so few facts are known is a double-edged sword. On the one hand there is a lot of room for invention, but on the other, when the character in question was married to one of the most noted men in English history and died before the most significant events in his life, it leaves a limited canvas on which to paint. Carol McGrath has made the best of this dilemma by writing a book that instead of placing Thomas Cromwell in the spotlight, draws his wife out of his shadow and gives her voice.
The result is a vivid immersion into the everyday life of the English merchant class in London and the domestic life of a Tudor woman. Elizabeth Cromwell is very much her own woman, refusing to be pushed around by her father, or re-married to a man she doesn't want after the death of her first husband – and it would have taken a feisty woman to hold the heart of a man like Cromwell and not be cowed by him.Unusually for her times (although permitted for widows) she launches herself into the cloth trade – not in a piecemeal manner but with a true entrepreneurial spirit.
McGrath is at her best describing the minor details of daily life – the smells of the city, the taste of the food and wine, the look and feel of the textiles Elizabeth trades in. There are unusual insights too into the cloth trade - the sumptuary laws that dictated the colour and texture of fabrics one was permitted to wear based on class, the manner of trading, the inspectors who presided over it, the petty rivalries between merchants. The dependence of families such as the Cromwells on their servants is also brought to life – rather than the distant dependents of later periods, these Tudor servants are almost part of Elizabeth's family and she has close attachments to them. Woven through all this are glimpses into the distant goings on at court, based on word of mouth, underpinned by Elizabeth's growing and prescient fears for her husband as he manoeuvres himself ever closer to the king.
All in all a well-researched and fascinating portrait of everyday life in Tudor England through the lens of a woman.

[Julie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more reviews, please visit my blog.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 3.5/5.0 stars

Main Takeaway: An interesting and enjoyable exposition of the realities of marriage and of being a woman in the 16th century. However, at times the novel brushed over events that could’ve been juicier.

**I received this novel from the publisher, Accent Press Books, in exchange for an honest review as a part of the one-year anniversary blog tour of The Woman in the Shadows. I received no compensation for this review, and the opinions expressed were not influenced by this transaction.**

When Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of twenty-two, Elizabeth is determined to join her father in and take over the cloth business run by her late husband. But Elizabeth faces many obstacles as a women in Henry VIII’s England, and her late husband’s secrets come back to bite her. Safety, wealth, and love arrive with Thomas Cromwell, a rising lawyer. However, could Thomas’s ambition, as it draws him and Elizabeth closer to the king, threaten the safety Elizabeth covets?

I had never read a novel set in Tudor England before The Woman in the Shadows. I’ve tried my fair share of period tv shows. Tudors, not for me. The Borgias? Don’t get me started. Reign, well, Reign was the only Tudor show I’ve ever actually enjoyed, but it’s barely set in any kind of historical truth, so I can only half count it. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous beginning The Woman in the Shadows, fearing my distaste for Tudor-shows would transfer into the novel-sphere, but it did not. I really enjoyed following Elizabeth and Thomas and learning about life in 16th century England.

What I loved about this novel is Elizabeth’s surefire feminist independence. Sure, it’s the 16th century and displays of feminism must be severely limited for any sort of realistic scenario, but I loved how Elizabeth asserted her independence, her entrepreneurial side, her role as head of the household, and her rights at a time when women were seen as property, not leaders of the home and owners of thriving businesses. The exploration of 16th-century marriage also fascinated me – from the lackluster business-arrangement-marriage to the slimy men who sought Elizabeth as their property and to a marriage, though rife with its own problems, founded and sustained on love.

However, I gave this novel three and a half stars because, while the novel was sprinkled with exciting events, these events were brushed over and then forgotten as if they never happened. These events had the potential to be exciting and suspenseful foundations for the plot, but this potential went unseen. What was left was a narrative of a life that’s seen much action, excitement, and love, but it is not a plot-driven narrative.

The wealth of this novel lies in the history, in Elizabeth, and in her love for Thomas. Perfect for fans of history, romance, and creative nonfiction.

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

“... Learn to question the world and find your own sense of light.” I felt he had given me advice of great value as I whispered my thanks. The Madonna had answered my prayer. She had sent me a good omen. I would thrive.”

Mistress Elizabeth (Wylie Williams) Cromwell, Gentlewoman, tells this tale of growing up a cloth merchant’s oldest daughter. Her first marriage was an arranged one to cement her father’s dealings in cloth. Widowed at 22, with no children, she chooses, as is her right, to continue to run her husband’s business, much to her father’s chagrin. As she struggles with her responsibilities, she makes alliance with Thomas Cromwell, himself a well known merchant who, after becoming her champion, marries her.

Thomas Cromwell is many things, but in this historical fiction, it is very obvious that he loves his wife. But Cromwell is ambitious and he makes and uses friends easily. Some of his choices historically put him and all he loved in danger. He is a man torn by love of country, love of family, and respect for some people and not for others. More than once, McGrath shows her knowledge of this in how she presents both Elizabeth and Thomas’s lives woven into a time of great upheaval in politics and the expanding world.

When news of this book first reached me, I was excited. I am an unabashed Tudorphile, intrigued with the era most of my life having written major papers on Elizabeth I. The familial history around Henry and his predilections and politics are a bit more muddled. And people like Thomas Cromwell lived well by knowing which way the wind blew. Was Thomas Cromwell a Catholic, a Humanist orsimply an intelligent politician?

This book is marvelously imagined within a small amount of actual known history.Cromwell was a commoner who rose to prominence because of his intelligence. This book is a nod to a fascinating man looking through the eyes of the person closest to him, his wife. This book is highly recommended. 5/5

[Marie Z Johansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Well Told, extraordinarily, fascinated mating read!

Thomas Cromwell. King Henry VIII's creature. Intelligent, avaricious, ambitious and fascinating. Most of us know him through stories of Henry VIII's court and the tumultuous time of divorce from Queen Catherine and marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Was there anther side to Cromwell? Was he a successful merchant and lawyer who had a soft spot for family and friends? How did he change to become Henry's henchman?

This book is told from the perspective of his wife, a widowed cloth merchant, who married Thomas as her second husband and with whom Cromwell had three children. I enjoyed this book from the first page and found that the only thing wrong with it was that it ended.

It provides a fascinating and, I think, quite believable look into what being a business woman, wife and mother would have been like during the period. Fascinating glimpses of childbirth, business practices, and home life are woven around a host of well designed characters that election empathy and draw you into their lives.
Now, on to read more by this obviously talented writer!

[loopyloulaura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth is a widow trying to be a cloth merchant in Tudor England. She catches the eye of lawyer Thomas Cromwell and her life changes forever...
The Woman in the Shadows is an historical novel set in the 1520s.
Thomas Cromwell has had a surge in popularity and perhaps even romanticised in the TV series Wolf Hall. This book presents a different version and focuses on his marriage and early years. Thomas uses his background in the cloth trade and from his overseas travels to build a relationship with Elizabeth. She is struggling to make it in a man's world and also has the mystery of her first husband's death to contend with.
Most of the book deals with everyday Tudor life and, although very realistic thanks to the high quality research, it could be a bit dull. Women's lives outside of the royal court were often monotonous and mundane which is why there is little recorded evidence.
I liked the evolving relationship and mutual respect that develop between Elizabeth and Thomas. Personal and national politics are at play but Thomas battles to keep his work away from his homelife, seeing Elizabeth as his refuge.
The Woman in the Shadows is well researched but lacks a spark.

[Linda Humberstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Elizabeth Cromwell, wife of Henry eighth's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell. Carol McGrath has researched the Tudor period well so you get a good insight into what it was like to be a woman of that time. Life for Elizabeth included both, marriage for the convenience of her father's business, and, widowhood when she tried to manage her cloth business in a man's world where she was not wanted. Through her we see a different side of Thomas Cromwell, one of a loving , kind and generous individual whom she marries and is happy with. Through her eyes we see his ambition as the family's fortune and standard of living gradually increases as he progresses in the political world surrounding Cardinal Wolsey and Henry. The book is easy to read and you can imagine Elizabeth Cromwell being exactly how McGrath portrays her in, thoughts, conversations and actions. I really enjoyed this because some of the fictitious parts of the story are not improbable and could easily have happened.