The subject of this year's Man Booker Prize winning novel, by Hilary Mantel, is the relationship of King Henry Tudor and Thomas Cromwell. The judges described it as "a contemporary novel, which happens to be set in the 16th century".
It struck me that the popular TV series The Tudors might have had something to do with it. It's a rollicking good drama, whose characters happen to be the movers and shakers of 16th century England. Thomas Cromwell is a shady character, who features prominently as King Henry's advisor in the second series. He's not the most hyped figure in history, which is perhaps why he inspires curiosity and sparks the imagination.
I'm sure the literati would deny making any connection with the grubby TV genre...but the subconscious is a tricky thing.
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