16 thoughts on “Jane Seymour in Wolf Hall (2015)

  1. Cromwell wanted Jane! He likes the deceptively placid blondes… from his former lady friend depicted in the tapestry, to his dead wife, to his sister-in-law… he had his eye on Jane from the first time he saw her. He sent her some needlework patterns wrapped in blue silk, and that’s where her “color pop” of kingfisher-blue sleeves came from.

    I like how Wolf Hall makes Jane placid, but not simple-minded. She has a steely little core of ironic detachment from the drama around her (Anne’s tantrums, the King’s importuning). I think she’s basically a fatalist who recognizes from that moment in the garden that it’s no use swimming against the tide – if the King wants her, he’ll get her. But I think she would have preferred Cromwell.

    She and Cromwell would have been a good match in their ironic fatalism.

    1. That’s what I was thinking! Cromwell + Jane — including the bit about the gift of patterns/sleeves. But she realized she has no choice in the matter, her family was going to do with her what they would.

      I also liked the hint of a possible relationship between Cromwell & Mary Boleyn, more on her side than his. Now *she* was an opportunist, angling for whatever she could get; that rang true to history as well. She wasn’t the brightest bulb, but she did try to hook up where she could, first in the French court & then in the English court, & finally realizing that’d come to nothing & settling in the country.

      Moral of the story: Most Tudor women were screwed :-/

  2. I actually think Jane Seymour was pretty? Perhaps in not a flashing sort of way, but really, she was no ogre. And the actress they chose here looks imho quite a lot like her. And I like the choices here regarding her costumes. (doubt we’ll get Wolf Hall here though)

    ALso, semi OT, but have you darlings heard of the show “Carlos Rey Emperador”? It’s a sequel to the show “Isabel”, and it is about the reign of Charles I of Spain. The first promo was up today but the work of the costume department is, IMHO excellent (had the opportunity to see some of the clothes in person and they are impressively accurate).
    Here’s the promo: http://lacortedecastilla.tumblr.com/post/118129520448/daughter-of-castile-first-promo-of-carlos-rey
    Here are more pictures of the filming: http://lacortedecastilla.tumblr.com/tagged/carlos+rey+emperador
    To get to the non-ot part, look at the actress who is going to play Katherine of Aragon in costume (from her instagram) (she’s blonde btw!): http://40.media.tumblr.com/6c921573465c194e0d826a159346c79d/tumblr_nl2kxnwPli1ro4t7go4_400.jpg
    http://40.media.tumblr.com/0885c0a577e1874aa5026148d3596dfe/tumblr_nl2kxnwPli1ro4t7go2_400.jpg
    And because it is a pet peeve of yours LOOK THE MAIN CHARACTER IS WEARING SHOES AND NO BOOTS: http://41.media.tumblr.com/565648c0de104c93d26e8fee15f87c25/tumblr_nnw0r1Rdsw1ro4t7go1_500.jpg

    1. AAAAAIEEEEEEEE!!!!! Where can I see these in the U.S???!?!?!?!! I’ve heard of “Isabel” & have been scouring the net for a legal streaming service. I want to see that & now this sequel.

      1. The three seasons of “Isabel” are in dramafever with English subtitles (it requires registering but it is the only legal way aside from DVDs and the site of TVE, which has a non-subtitled version):

        – Season 1: http://www.dramafever.com/es/drama/4221/Isabel_-_Season_1/
        – Season 2: http://www.dramafever.com/es/drama/4315/Isabel_-_Season_2/
        – Season 3: http://www.dramafever.com/es/drama/4588/Isabel_-_Season_3/

        I think they did an impressive job considering the minimal budget they had (there are quite a few reused costumes, but nothing as visible as, let’s say “The Tudors”.) Thankfully, they got more money for “Carlos” and it shows, as they got more costumes made. The series premieres in Spain later this year, and there is also a TV movie in the works that covers the period between the end of “Isabel” and the start of “Carlos”, and there is also a show about Philip II in talks (and here is where I literally squee because Philip II is my favourite monarch and I think this could give a more human view of him. Plus I love late sixteenth century Spanish fashions.)

  3. That’s an awesome recommendation – thank you! all through Wolf Hall they keep talking about The Emperor and I still am not sure which emperor and what was he known for other than being Katherine’s nephew!

    1. then I hope the series helps you get a good idea about him, HH, since Charles I was quite a fascinating fellow. He was the eldest son (and second child) of Katherine’s older sister Juana, and he had quite an eventful reign (specially at the start! But I promise I won’t spoil anything). Plus his love story with Isabella of Portugal is so cute… Really, this series is going to be one to watch!

  4. In the book, Cromwell does notice Jane Seymour and thinks of her as a “sweet girl”, but in the hopes of choosing her as a wife for his son Gregory. That’s as far as I’ve gotten in the book, though, so correct me if I’m wrong or if that changes later on in the book :)

  5. I love Jane’s costumes in “Wolf Hall”, but her “home” costume is wildly more lavish in the book (“Bring Up the Bodies”), being of stiff, cream-colored silk embroidered with carnation sprigs. Cromwell even thinks to himself that her outfit must have cost at least fifty pounds (a very large sum in those days).

    I would have liked to see Jane in her carnation-sprigged finery, but I also like the more homely look the costumers went for.

  6. Necklines are too low. Tudor Women did not show their cleavage, and the gable hood was a trademark of Jane Seymour, a reaction against Anne Boleyn’s French fashions.

    1. It wasn’t in the show, but in the second Wolf Hall book ‘Bring Up the Bodies’, there was a whole scene between Cromwell, Jane and her family where they dug out the gable hoods they wore while Catherine of Aragon was queen. Why it wasn’t in the show, IDK, but honestly I would’ve liked to see it.

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