Summary

In “Wreckage (I),” Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s former queen, has just been beheaded. Looking on in the crowd is Thomas Cromwell: a blacksmith’s son who has risen, through his cunning and skill, to become the King’s right-hand man. He is one of the most powerful figures in Tudor England, and also one of the busiest. In the aftermath of this unprecedented execution, he’s about to be even busier.

Cromwell observes the execution with a practiced eye, noticing the courage of Anne’s women (who won’t allow any men to touch her tiny body) and the executioner’s professionalism. He also notes the reactions of those around him: Suffolk demonstrates his scorn by refusing to kneel for the death blow, while Cromwell’s son Gregory manages to put on a brave face.

Cromwell is concerned for Gregory, coaching him on...