Hilary Mantel
Books by Hilary Mantel
“We start with an ending—Anne Boleyn’s head has just been severed. Nobody does an execution like Hilary Mantel…In The Mirror and The Light…the pace slowly but inexorably increases as the complications of Cromwell’s ambitions and responsibilities multiply. We know what the end will be, but the tension, the tension!” Read more...
The Best Historical Fiction: The 2021 Walter Scott Prize Shortlist
Katharine Grant, Historical Novelist
“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...
Fludd
by Hilary Mantel
This is the book I wish I had written of all the contemporary novels I've read.
Bring up the Bodies
by Hilary Mantel
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
Wolf Hall is the first book in Hilary Mantel’s highly acclaimed Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Both Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies—won the Booker Prize. The Mirror and the Light, the final part of the trilogy was released in 2020.
Interviews where books by Hilary Mantel were recommended
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 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:
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.
