Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell is the main character in the novel "Bring up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel. Cromwell is middle-aged, and is the Secretary to King Henry VIII. Raised as a blacksmith's son, Cromwell served the right people at the right time, and was brought up through the ranks of England's elites, all the way to be the right hand man of the king himself. In addition to his role as Secretary, Cromwell is Master of the Rolls, Chancellor of Cambridge University, and Deputy Head of the Church in England. Cromwell is the widower if Elizabeth Cromwell, and father of Anne and Grace Cromwell, also deceased. But Cromwell is the father of his living son, Gregory, and uncle of Richard.

Cromwell appears as an antihero in the novel, serving both good and bad ends through the king. Cromwell is tasked standing in for the king in diplomatic and...