Part One Summary

Part One, I - The Cromwells head back to Wolf Hall after sporting with tamed hawks. Thomas Cromwell, secretary to King Henry VIII, It has been a few months since the execution of Thomas More. It is the autumn of 1535. The days are seemingly perfect. There is no war at the moment, and Henry appears settled with second wife, Anne Boelyn. Cromwell speaks to Sir John Seymour, owner of Wolf Hall. King Henry, John, and Cromwell talk of marriage, and the regard John's daughter, Jane -plain, quiet, and reserved. At dinner, it is announced that Jane Seymour will accompany Henry on a hunt; Francis Weston, a courtier, whispers that Anne will be unhappy about it.

Jane reveals that she, and other girls, have been studying French, and that their lives are not all about gossip. Upon hearing the story of Edgar...