I was a few pages into Wolf Hall and knew immediately I was reading something very special - the perfect Heather's Pick. When the novel was nominated for the coveted Booker Prize, I kept my fingers crossed that it would get the nod. In fact, a few weeks ago, Wolf Hall emerged the 2009 Booker winner. And winner it is.

Wolf Hall is rich, historical fiction with a totally new perspective on the intrigue-filled court of Henry the VIII. All the usual suspects are present: Henry's first wife Katherine of Aragon; his second wife Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary; Thomas Wolsey, the Archbishop of York; William Warham, the aging Archbishop of Canterbury; the Seymour family; the Pope and many others.

But the real protagonist in this deftly woven story is Thomas Cromwell - political genius, briber, bully and full-on charmer. It is through Cromwell's intelligent and piercing eyes that we become voyeurs at the famous Tudor Court. The events and circumstances surrounding Cromwell's rise to power are breathtaking. Rising from personal disaster - the loss of his young family, and of Wolsey, his beloved patron - he picks his way deftly through a court where "man is wolf to man". Pitting himself against parliament, the political establishment, and the papacy, he is prepared to reshape England to his own and Henry's desires.

This is a time when the crown jewels went to those who could get and keep power, but, as Anne Boleyn discovered, a fall from grace meant nothing short of the gallows.

P.S. For the first few pages, you may find it hard to keep track of all the characters - worry not, there is a "cheat sheet" of characters tucked into the book.