Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel (1952-2022) was a British writer whose historical novels brought the past alive, winning acclaim from the literary community but also admired by historians. She won the Booker Prize, the UK’s most prestigious fiction prize, twice. Once was for Wolf Hall, the first book in her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, henchman to King Henry VIII. She won it again for the second book in the trilogy, Bring up the Bodies. But she wrote many books over her career—including a memoir, Giving Up the Ghost—and several of her other books have also been highly recommended.
Books by Hilary Mantel
“It follows Georges Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Maximilien Robespierre from childhood, through the drama of the revolution and the political morass that follows, until the bloody dissolution of their alliance. Through the interweaving of their intellectual, familial and sexual pursuits, Mantel paints fully realised portraits of these three brilliant, complicated men (and a huge supporting cast).” Read more...
The Mirror and the Light
by Hilary Mantel
“His voice is as close as can be to the voice that’s in my head as I write” —Hilary Mantel
The print book of The Mirror and the Light has got rave reviews, but award-winning actor Ben Miles does an amazing job narrating the audiobook. As Hilary Mantel has pointed out, the British actor (who also starred in the Crown) has already played Thomas Cromwell for the Royal Shakespeare Company, in London’s West End and on Broadway: “Ben understands the main character from the inside. His insights from the rehearsal room helped shape the story. He is familiar with how all the characters grow, from first page to last.”
Narrator: Ben Miles
Length: 38 hours and 11 minutes
“This is the book I wish I had written of all the contemporary novels I’ve read. It’s set in the fifties, in a small, rainy Yorkshire town. The local Catholic church is still very old-fashioned, and the priest receives a letter saying someone’s going to come along and shake you up. So he is expecting someone to come along and guide them into the 20th century, and one dark and stormy night there is a knock on the door, and standing on the doorstep is a priest with a neat little dog collar and his black hair combed very tidily. It soon becomes apparent that this is a form of the devil.” Read more...
Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction
Sarah Perry, Novelist
Bring up the Bodies
by Hilary Mantel
***Winner of the 2012 Booker Prize***
The author almost becomes Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s adviser and key figure in both the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn
Wolf Hall
by Hilary Mantel
***Winner of the 2009 Booker Prize***
Now we’re at Wolf Hall, the first book in historical novelist Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, henchman to King Henry VIII, who spearheaded the Reformation in England. It’s a very, very convincing depiction of life in 1530s England and it’s hard not to completely believe in—and sympathise with—the Thomas Cromwell character she creates. Given this book also won the Booker Prize, Wolf Hall scores highly both as history and as fiction.
The other books in the trilogy are Bring Up the Bodies, which won the 2012 Booker Prize, and The Mirror and the Light, published in 2020.
“Hilary Mantel possesses an extraordinary historical imagination and her recreation of the world of the 1530s through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell is, I think, utterly convincing.” Read more...
Thomas Penn, Historian
Beyond Black
by Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel's comic novel, about a medium living in London's outer suburbs near the M25. In an article in the New Yorker that ranges widely over her writing, critic and author Daniel Mendelsohn said Beyond Black was possibly her "masterpiece."
Interviews where books by Hilary Mantel were recommended
The best books on Architectural Icons, recommended by John Grindrod
John Grindrod, the author of books about the built environment Iconicon and Concretopia, reflects on the ingredients that add up to an architectural icon as he selects five books that explore how buildings might define an era or a particular place in time.
The best books on Henry VII, recommended by Thomas Penn
He was the Machiavelli of English kings – a chancer and usurper with a highly dubious claim to the throne. But Henry VII ruled for 25 years and founded a dynasty. His biographer tells us how he did it
The Best Historical Novels, recommended by Vanora Bennett
Which are the best historical novels? Bestselling author Vanora Bennett recommends.
Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction
The Gothic puts flesh on the bones of our darkest fears, novelist Sarah Perry tells Five Books. Here, she chooses five favourite novels in this ‘irresistible’ genre.
The Best Historical Fiction: The 2021 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist, recommended by Katharine Grant
The Walter Scott Prize seeks to highlight the very best of historical fiction—and in 2021, we find the shortlist dominated by Australian writers. Katharine Grant, the acclaimed novelist and chair of the judges, returns to Five Books to discuss the cream of this year’s crop, and the art of transforming the historical record into a creative exercise.
Favourite Novels of 2020, recommended by Cal Flyn
Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn selects her favourite novels from among those published in 2020: the year of the lockdown, a time when many of us found escapism and solace between the covers of a book. Her own book, Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape, a work of literary nonfiction, is out in January.
Editors’ Picks: Notable New Novels of Early 2020, recommended by Cal Flyn
Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn rounds up the most hotly anticipated new novels of early 2020, including the final instalment in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy and new work from the authors of Dept. of Speculation, Eileen and Station Eleven.
The Best Long Books To Read in Lockdown, recommended by Five Books
If you’re stuck in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, it might be time to finally crack open that one long read you always meant to get around to, but slid down your list of books for whatever reason—not enough time, too many pages. Problem is, there are so many monster doorstoppers, and it can be hard to tell which are worth your time. The Five Books editors weigh in:
