First, I have to admit that I did not understand where the title came from until nearly the end of the book, when the phrase was used to instruct the gaolers to bring the accused to their trial. It almost sounds as if they were sentenced before they were tried - thought of as bodies rather than people. 
 I really liked this book, although I don't think the pace was quite as fast as Wolf Hall, which I liked slightly better. I love the writing. It is so evocative of the time. I continue to be amazed at Hilary Mantel's ability to take me to the England of Cromwell and keep me there. I totally agree with her portrayal of Henry VIII. I don't like him, I never have, and it's nice to read an author who is not an apologist for him. The sense of danger to everyone at court and even to the country is real as Anne Boleyn slinks toward her own destruction. The way Mantel sets up slight questions and uncertainty around the accusations and betrayals of the men accused of committing adultery with Anne is masterful, and even Anne's culpability is left in question in the end. I admit to being worried about Cromwell. I know the end of the story, but I keep trying to think of ways to stop it. 
 By far my favorite line in the book: 
 When Stephen comes into a room, the furnishings shrink from him. Chairs scuttle backwards. Joint-stools flatten themselves like pissing bitches. The woolen Bible figures in the king's tapestries lift their hands to cover their ears.