"Bring up the Bodies" is an historical novel by Hilary Mantel, and is the recipient of the 2012 Man Booker Prize. The novel follows the character of Thomas Cromwell through King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn, and later Jane Seymour.

Cromwell is the Secretary to the King, among other positions he holds, and he is Henry's right hand man by Henry's own admission. Cromwell is also something of a friend and brother-like figure to Henry. Henry and his court have spent the summer and autumn in the English countryside to avoid disease and illness common in London at that time. While in the country at Wolf Hall, the home of the Seymour family, Henry meets and begins to fall for Jane Seymour. Meanwhile, Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn quickly sours, and Henry entrusts Cromwell to find a way for Anne to be divorced and dethroned.

Cromwell sets to work, managing - not just handling - Anne's removal, but also the affairs of the state, including diplomacy with France and the Holy Roman Empire, while Henry pursues Jane. Cromwell gathers evidence against Anne by paying people off and deploying spies, and he uses this evidence against her to force her to step down. When she refuses, Henry goes on with a trial against her, which ultimately leads to Anne's execution. For his work, Cromwell is promoted to a baron.