The Cardinal, by Alison Weir, focuses on a man who was the puppet master behind Henry VIII's reign, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey... until the king decides he's just another one of his puppets after all. A fascinating account of one man's meteoric rise (from the son of a tradesman to an international power broker), and eventual stunning fall, in Tudor England. Weir truly brings these real characters from the past to impassioned, colorful life. A fascinating read! Highly recommend!!!

I really enjoy books about the Henry VIII time in history. I really enjoyed reading this book, and this part of the history.
This book was clearly well researched and very well written. I highly recommend it.

The Cardinal by Alison Weir was such a good book. This story was a masterpiece! I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

A wonderful story of Cardinal Wolsey.
It's about time he got his own story. Thank you Mrs.Weir for a fabulous one!
I loved how she brought this man to life for us readers to see what he's really like.
For me, I couldn't stand him. He didn't resonate with me at all.
He was greedy for himself. Ugh
A bad influence on Henry the 8th. I think eventually Henry would have come to those conclusions once and for all himself.
This novel made me feel lucky that I wasn't born then. All the evil hersey. Oh my!
I loved the secondary characters too.
To me, they are what made this story.
I was drawn in from beginning until end.
I wanted to see what made Wolsey tick so to speak. Mostly jealousy from what I gathered. He wanted more and more power.
I love anything Tudor so I was happy to see this book. Was I disappointed? No, I was NOT! I'm never disappointed in Weir's books. They are always interesting.
It's why I choose to read them but this time I was invited to read it.
5 stars for a fantastic story. I highly recommend
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

The Cardinal by new to me author Alison Weir, published by Penguin Randomhouse Ballantine, is a historical fiction story set in the 1486ties. A story that spans decades telling the story of Tom Wolsey.
Tom is a" bright and brilliant "man, the son of a tradesman, who's going to make his way in the Tudor Age in England.
Well written, interesting, suspenseful, literally unputdownable, 4 beautiful stars.

I loved this book so much. If you have ever watched The Tudors, then you will like this book it hits on the Cardinals story and with the show I can picture it all. I loved seeing how the Cardinal started out and how everything happened. He played such a big role in England at the time and to have a story based on him and not Henry and his wives' is amazing. If you like history and are interested in the Tudor rule this is a good book to read.