‘Wolf Hall’ Recap: Is ‘Jenneke’ Episode Based on a True Story?
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Season 1 Episode 4, “Jenneke.”]
Thomas Cromwell, a prominent figure in King Henry VIII’s reign, doesn’t often get the spotlight in history books. That’s the appeal of both Wolf Hall series, including the Hilary Mantel book trilogy on which the shows are based. But Mantel’s books, while inspired by history, are historical fiction. How much of the show is accurate? Episode 4 of the sequel series, The Mirror and the Light, is its biggest foray into fictional interpretations of historic events. The episode aired on Sunday, April 13 on PBS and debuted Cromwell’s (Mark Rylance) illegitimate daughter, Jenneke (Ellie de Lange). But did she really exist? Here’s what’s real and what’s fiction from this Wolf Hall storyline.
Is Jenneke Cromwell a real person?
The short answer is no. Jenneke is a character created by Mantel. In both the book and the series, Jenneke is deployed as a narrative device to explore Cromwell’s feelings of regret as the walls start to close in on him in Henry’s (Damian Lewis) court. Wolf Hall tracks Cromwell’s rise and fall from power in 1500s England, and as of Episode 4, his steely demeanor is starting to crumble and his anger is beginning to bleed out. This is in part influenced by the death of the queen, Jane (Kate Phillips), after she gave birth to Henry’s only son.
Jenneke, a young woman from Antwerp, arrived at the end of Episode 3, which also saw the debut of another illegitimate daughter — Dorothea (Hannah Khalique-Brown), daughter of Jonathan Pryce‘s Cardinal Wolsey. In Episode 4, Jenneke reveals that she was told her father was dead, but upon learning that her mother kept the truth from her — and in the wake of her mother’s death about one year prior — she set off for England to meet her last living parent. Cromwell tells Jenneke that he would have returned to Antwerp and married Jenneke’s mother had he known she became pregnant. This highlights Cromwell’s desire for a different, peaceful life as the stresses of managing the unruly Tudor monarch and England’s religious reform persist.
Cromwell did have daughters in real life. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1528, and daughters, Alice (or Anne) and Grace, died in 1529, their causes of death the sweating sickness that ran through England several times between 1485 and 1551. Cromwell and son Gregory (played by Charlie Rowe in The Mirror and the Light) lived on, and it’s believed that Cromwell did have an illegitimate daughter named Jane.
When does Jane Seymour die in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light?
While Cromwell got to know his adult daughter in Episode 4, the death of Jane following complications of childbirth loomed. In a rare outburst, Cromwell screamed at the king’s men that Jane wouldn’t have died had she married him instead of Henry. This public display of criticism and blame of the king will not go over well. Despite Henry saying that he would “walk to Jerusalem” if it would save Jane from death after Edward’s birth, it was a disingenuous statement. Jane was bedridden and suffering while Henry was busy celebrating the birth of his son and heir, Jane’s throne glaringly empty at his side.
When is the Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light finale?
With only two episodes left in the series (The Mirror and the Light is dubbed the “epic conclusion” to this adaptation), the next episodes will be the show’s most dramatic. Episode 5, titled “Mirror,” airs Sunday, April 20, at 9/8c on PBS. It will see the introduction of Henry’s fifth wife, Anne of Cleves, a doomed marriage arranged by Cromwell himself.
With France and the Holy Roman Emperor together threatening to invade England, the marriage will cement an alliance between the powerful reforming princes of Europe and defend England from attack. The Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light finale airs Sunday, April 27, at 9/8c on PBS. PBS Passport members and subscribers to the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel can watch new episodes before they air on PBS.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Sundays, 9/8c, PBS
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