BOOK TALK with ALISON WEIR

THE CARDINAL

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey enjoyed one of the most meteoric careers in history. From humble beginnings in an Ipswich inn, he rose to become Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor and cherished friend.

All was going dazzlingly until Henry fell in love with Anne Boleyn - the woman whom Wolsey would one day call 'the night crow' - and sought to end his marriage to his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Swept up in the maelstrom of 'the Divorce', Wolsey found himself in an impossible situation, with his world crumbling around him.

Alison Weir's new novel tells the story of Wolsey the man, his incredible rise to power and his tragic fall. She delves beyond the splendour and political machinations of the Tudor court to reveal the secrets of Wolsey's private life and the mistress he loved devotedly, and the tragedy that overtook them. It is a tale of two women, one who loved him and one who hated him - and also a tale of two men, king and commoner, the special, deep-rooted bonds that brought them together, and the forces that drove them apart.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to view rarely-seen items from the Alnwick Castle archive relevant to the subject of the talk.