Wolf Hall - the economic lessons

Five centuries may have passed but Cromwell's Tudor times offer some remarkable parallels with the economic plight of Britain today

He works all hours, first up and last to bed. He makes money and he spends it. He will take a bet on anything. A description of a foreign exchange dealer taking big punts in the City? No, think again for this is Hilary Mantel's description of Thomas Cromwell.

The TV adaptation of Wolf Hall ends this week with the fall of Anne Boleyn. Throughout the six episodes, the focus has been on the political themes addressed in the book: Henry VIII's determination to have a male heir, who's up and who's down at court, the break with the Pope over the king's divorce from Catherine of Aragon.