Dame Hilary Mantel (1952-2022) was one of the most celebrated historical fiction authors of her time, renowned for her brilliant Wolf Hall trilogy, which tells the story of Thomas Cromwell and Tudor England. She became the first woman to win the Booker Prize twice, cementing her place among literary greats.
Mantel’s meticulous research, psychological depth, and revolutionary approach to historical figures transformed how we understand the Tudor period. Her fifteen books, including twelve novels, two collections of short stories, and a memoir, have sold millions of copies worldwide and earned her a devoted international readership. Although she passed away in September 2022, her literary legacy continues to captivate readers who are discovering her work for the first time.
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Early Life and Background
Hilary Mary Mantel was born on July 6, 1952, in Glossop, Derbyshire, England. She studied law at the London School of Economics and the University of Sheffield, though she never practiced. Her early life was marked by severe endometriosis, a chronic condition that would affect her health throughout her life and inform her deeply empathetic approach to character development.
Mantel lived in Botswana and Saudi Arabia with her husband Gerald McEwen for several years, experiences that influenced her early novels. These years abroad gave her a unique perspective on British history, allowing her to view it from a distance that would later shape her revolutionary approach to Tudor England.
Writing Career
Mantel published her first novel, Every Day Is Mother’s Day, in 1985. Her early work included contemporary fiction and the acclaimed memoir Giving Up the Ghost (2003), which explored her struggles with endometriosis and its impact on her life.
Her breakthrough came with Wolf Hall in 2009, which won the Man Booker Prize and transformed her from a respected novelist into an international literary sensation. The sequel, Bring Up the Bodies (2012), made history by winning the Booker Prize again, making Mantel the first woman to win the prize twice. The trilogy concluded with The Mirror and the Light (2020), completing one of the most ambitious historical fiction projects of the 21st century.
Literary Achievement and Recognition
Mantel’s achievements include:
- Two-time Man Booker Prize winner (2009, 2012)
- Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2014)
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- Multiple bestseller lists in the UK, US, and internationally
- Stage adaptations of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (Royal Shakespeare Company)
- BBC miniseries adaptation starring Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell
Writing Style and Approach
Mantel was renowned for her immersive historical detail, psychological complexity, and ability to make 16th-century politics feel immediate and relevant. She wrote in the present tense, a bold choice that brought readers directly into Cromwell’s mind and the Tudor court’s machinations.
Her extensive research involved reading primary sources in Latin and French, visiting historical sites, and spending years understanding the political and religious complexities of Tudor England. Yet she never let research overwhelm narrative. Her prose was elegant, precise, and often darkly witty.
Readers love Mantel’s work for its intelligence, emotional depth, and ability to humanize historical figures previously seen as villains or footnotes. Her portrayal of Thomas Cromwell is brilliant, pragmatic, and surprisingly sympathetic, while her depiction of Anne Boleyn, Thomas More, and Henry VIII revolutionized how we understand these iconic figures.
Hilary Mantel’s Passing
Dame Hilary Mantel died suddenly on September 22, 2022, at the age of 70. She passed away from a stroke while surrounded by close family and friends. Her death shocked the literary world, coming just two years after completing her monumental Wolf Hall trilogy.
Mantel’s health had been affected by severe endometriosis in her twenties, which she wrote about candidly in her memoir. The condition required surgery and left her infertile, influencing much of her writing about the body, suffering, and resilience. Despite these challenges, she produced an extraordinary body of work that will influence historical fiction for generations.
She is survived by her husband, Gerald McEwen, whom she married in 1973. Mantel had no children, a circumstance related to her illness, which she addressed thoughtfully in interviews and her memoir. Details of her funeral were kept private by her family.
Complete Bibliography: Hilary Mantel’s Books in Order
The Wolf Hall Trilogy (Thomas Cromwell Series)
Setting: Tudor England, 1500-1540
Number of Books: 3 books (complete)
Main Character: Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII
Why It’s Essential: This trilogy is considered one of the greatest achievements in historical fiction, winning unprecedented literary acclaim.
The series follows Thomas Cromwell’s rise from a blacksmith’s son to the most powerful man in England, aside from Henry VIII. Mantel’s revolutionary portrayal shows Cromwell not as the villain of history but as a brilliant, complex, and surprisingly modern political operator navigating the deadly intrigues of Henry VIII’s court.
Reading Order:
- Wolf Hall (2009) – Follows Cromwell’s rise to power during the 1520s and 1530s, covering Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his infatuation with Anne Boleyn, and the break with Rome. Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize.
- Bring Up the Bodies (2012) – Covers the dramatic fall of Anne Boleyn in 1536, showing Cromwell at the height of his power as he engineers the queen’s downfall. Winner of the 2012 Man Booker Prize.
- The Mirror and the Light (2020) – The final volume chronicles Cromwell’s last four years, from Anne Boleyn’s execution to his own fall and execution in 1540. The longest book in the trilogy, it’s the most ambitious and comprehensive volume.
Note on Reading Order: These books must be read in order. They form a continuous narrative that follows Cromwell’s life, with characters, plotlines, and political developments unfolding across all three volumes.
Hilary Mantel’s Other Novels
Beyond the Wolf Hall trilogy, Mantel wrote diverse fiction exploring different historical periods and contemporary settings.
Historical Fiction
- A Place of Greater Safety (1992) – An epic novel about the French Revolution, following Danton, Robespierre, and Desmoulins. Many consider it Mantel’s first masterpiece, though it was written before being published.
- The Giant, O’Brien (1998) – Based on the true story of Irish giant Charles Byrne in 18th-century London and his encounters with surgeon John Hunter.
Contemporary Fiction
- Every Day Is Mother’s Day (1985) – Mantel’s debut novel, a dark comedy about a social worker and her troubled clients in suburban England.
- Vacant Possession (1986) – Sequel to Every Day Is Mother’s Day, continuing the story ten years later.
- Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (1988) – A psychological thriller set in Saudi Arabia, drawn from Mantel’s experiences living there.
- Fludd (1989) – A darkly comic novel set in a 1950s northern English village.
- A Change of Climate (1994) – Explores the experiences of a missionary family in Botswana and their return to England.
- An Experiment in Love (1995) – Semi-autobiographical novel about young women at university in London during the 1970s.
- Beyond Black (2005) – A contemporary novel about a psychic medium, mixing dark comedy with supernatural elements. Shortlisted for the Orange Prize.
Short Fiction and Memoir
- Learning to Talk (2003) – Short story collection exploring memory, childhood, and identity.
- Giving Up the Ghost (2003) – Memoir exploring her childhood, illness, and experiences with endometriosis. Brutally honest and beautifully written.
- The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher (2014) – A short story collection featuring the controversial title story.
- Mantel Pieces: Royal Bodies and Other Writing (2020) – Collection of essays, reviews, and commentary on writing and history.
Where to Start with Hilary Mantel
Best First Book
Recommendation: Wolf Hall
If you’re interested in Hilary Mantel, start with Wolf Hall. It’s her most famous work, most accessible, and the beginning of her masterpiece trilogy. While her earlier novels are excellent, Wolf Hall showcases everything that made Mantel exceptional: brilliant characterization, immersive historical detail, psychological complexity, and prose that’s both elegant and propulsive.
Don’t be intimidated by the 650-page length. Mantel’s present-tense narration and her focus on Cromwell’s interior life make the Tudor court feel immediate and surprisingly modern. Many readers find they can’t put it down.
If You Want…
Her most acclaimed work: Start with Wolf Hall and commit to the full trilogy. This is Mantel at her absolute peak.
Standalone historical fiction: Try A Place of Greater Safety (French Revolution) or The Giant, O’Brien (18th-century London). Both showcase her historical fiction mastery without requiring a trilogy commitment.
Contemporary fiction: Beyond Black is a darkly humorous work that showcases Mantel’s range beyond historical settings.
Understanding the author: Read Giving Up the Ghost, her memoir. It explains much about her approach to writing and character development.
Literary horror/psychological thriller: Eight Months on Ghazzah Street is genuinely unsettling.
The Wolf Hall Trilogy: A Deeper Look
Why Wolf Hall Changed Historical Fiction
Before Mantel, Thomas Cromwell was history’s villain: the brutal enforcer who destroyed monasteries and sent Anne Boleyn to her death. Mantel asked a simple question: what if we saw events through Cromwell’s eyes instead of through centuries of propaganda by his enemies?
Her answer was revolutionary. Cromwell becomes a protagonist of remarkable depth: a self-made man of humble origins, a devoted family man haunted by personal loss, a political genius navigating impossible situations, and someone whose pragmatism and modernity feel startlingly relevant to contemporary readers.
Mantel’s research was exhaustive, but she never let it slow the narrative. She read Cromwell’s letters, studied legal documents, traced his movements through London, and immersed herself in the religious and political conflicts of 1530s England. The result feels both meticulously accurate and compulsively readable.
Present Tense and “He”
Mantel made two bold stylistic choices that define the trilogy:
- Present tense: The entire trilogy is written in the present tense, making 16th-century events feel immediate and suspenseful, even when we know the historical outcome.
- The pronoun “he”: When “he” appears without a name, it almost always refers to Cromwell. This technique places readers directly in Cromwell’s perspective, allowing them to see events as he does, understand his calculations and emotions in real-time.
These choices initially frustrated some readers, but they create an extraordinarily immersive experience once you adjust.
Why the Title “Wolf Hall”?
Wolf Hall (or Wulfhall) was the Seymour family estate in Wiltshire, home to Jane Seymour, who would become Henry VIII’s third wife. The title works on multiple levels: it’s where the story moves toward in the first volume, it represents the dangerous world of courtly politics (wolf-like predators circling), and it evokes the precarious nature of power where anyone can be brought down.
Mantel chose the title because it captured the menace underlying Tudor court life, where today’s favorite could be tomorrow’s condemned traitor.
Historical Accuracy
Mantel’s trilogy is extraordinarily accurate regarding known facts, dates, and events. Where she takes creative liberty is in characterization and the interior lives of her subjects. We don’t know what Thomas Cromwell thought or felt, but Mantel’s interpretations are grounded in his letters, actions, and the historical record.
Her portrayal challenges traditional villains-and-heroes narratives. Thomas More, often portrayed as a martyr, appears as an obsessive heretic-burner. Anne Boleyn is sympathetic but calculating. Henry VIII is charismatic but increasingly dangerous. Cromwell himself makes morally complex choices we’re forced to understand even when we might not approve.
The BBC Adaptation
The Royal Shakespeare Company adapted Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies for the stage in 2014, starring Ben Miles as Cromwell. This production was later filmed for BBC television with Mark Rylance in the role (2015).
The BBC adaptation is excellent, faithful to Mantel’s vision while condensing the narrative for television. Mark Rylance’s subtle, intelligent performance captures Cromwell’s complexity beautifully. However, the books offer far greater depth, interior insight, and scope than any adaptation can provide.
A television adaptation of The Mirror and the Light was filmed in 2024, with Mark Rylance and much of the original cast returning. The series premiered on the BBC in November 2024 and on PBS Masterpiece in March 2025.
Books by Time Period
Mantel wrote across multiple historical eras:
Tudor England (1500-1540)
- Wolf Hall trilogy (her most famous work)
18th Century
- The Giant, O’Brien (1780s London)
French Revolution (1790s)
- A Place of Greater Safety
Contemporary/20th Century
- Every Day Is Mother’s Day
- Vacant Possession
- Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (1980s Saudi Arabia)
- Fludd (1950s England)
- A Change of Climate
- An Experiment in Love (1970s London)
- Beyond Black
Awards and Recognition
Hilary Mantel’s unprecedented literary achievements include:
- Man Booker Prize for Wolf Hall (2009)
- Man Booker Prize for Bring Up the Bodies (2012) – First British author to win twice
- Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) (2014)
- Walter Scott Prize for Wolf Hall (2010)
- Costa Book of the Year for Wolf Hall (2009)
- Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Beyond Black (2006)
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- Sunday Express Book of the Year for The Mirror and the Light (2020)
- Numerous other awards and honorary degrees
Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies both topped bestseller lists in the UK, US, and internationally, selling millions of copies worldwide. The Mirror and the Light debuted at number one in multiple countries, despite being released during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Legacy and Literary Influence
Though Hilary Mantel completed fifteen books before her death in 2022, her influence on historical fiction is immeasurable. She demonstrated that historical novels could achieve the highest literary standards while remaining compulsively readable. Her success opened doors for other literary historical fiction authors and showed that the genre deserved serious critical attention.
The Wolf Hall trilogy will likely be studied in universities for generations, alongside the works of Tolstoy and Dickens. Mantel proved that historical fiction could be both popular and profound, entertaining and intellectually rigorous, faithful to history and daringly imaginative.
Her approach to historical figures, portraying them as complex individuals rather than heroes or villains, has influenced countless authors. Her meticulous research standards and commitment to understanding the alien mindset of the past raised the bar for historical fiction across the genre.
Similar Authors You’ll Enjoy
If you love Hilary Mantel’s work, you might also enjoy:
- Philippa Gregory – Also writes Tudor fiction, though with more focus on women’s perspectives and a more romantic approach than Mantel’s.
- Alison Weir – Historian who also writes Tudor fiction. More traditionally plotted than Mantel but impeccably researched.
- C.J. Sansom – Writes the Shardlake mystery series set in Tudor England. More genre fiction than literary fiction, but excellent historical detail, and also features Thomas Cromwell as a character.
- Rose Tremain – Literary historical fiction with Mantel’s attention to language and character psychology. Try Restoration or Music and Silence.
- Sarah Dunant – Writes literary historical fiction set in Renaissance Italy. The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan are excellent.
- Pat Barker – Contemporary novelist who writes brilliant literary historical fiction. The Regeneration trilogy (WWI) shows similar psychological depth to Mantel’s work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Hilary Mantel’s best book?
Most readers and critics consider the Wolf Hall trilogy to be Mantel’s masterpiece, particularly Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. However, A Place of Greater Safety (about the French Revolution) has a passionate following and is considered by some to be equally brilliant. For contemporary fiction, Beyond Black is outstanding.
If you’re new to Mantel, start with Wolf Hall. It won the Booker Prize, launching her to international fame and showcasing everything that made her exceptional.
In what order should I read Hilary Mantel’s books?
For the Wolf Hall trilogy, you must read in publication order:
- Wolf Hall (2009)
- Bring Up the Bodies (2012)
- The Mirror and the Light (2020)
These books form a continuous narrative and should be read in order.
For her other novels, you can read in any order, as most are standalone. The only exceptions are “Every Day Is Mother’s Day” and its sequel, “Vacant Possession.”
Is Hilary Mantel historically accurate?
Yes, Mantel’s historical research was exceptional. The Wolf Hall trilogy is remarkably accurate in its portrayal of known facts, dates, events, and historical documentation. Where she takes creative liberty is in characterization and the interior lives of her subjects.
Mantel spent years researching primary sources, reading Cromwell’s letters, studying legal and political documents, and immersing herself in Tudor history. Historians have praised her accuracy while noting that her interpretation of characters (making Cromwell sympathetic, for instance) is her creative achievement rather than established historical consensus.
What did Hilary Mantel die from?
Hilary Mantel died from a stroke on September 22, 2022, at the age of 70. Her death was sudden and unexpected. Throughout her life, she had suffered from severe endometriosis, a chronic condition that caused her significant pain and health complications. She wrote candidly about her illness in her memoir Giving Up the Ghost.
How do you pronounce Hilary Mantel?
HIL-uh-ree MAN-tell (emphasis on first syllables)
“Mantel” rhymes with “mantle” (as in a fireplace mantel or a cloak).
Which Hilary Mantel book should I read first?
Start with Wolf Hall if you’re interested in Tudor history or literary fiction. It’s her most acclaimed and accessible work.
If Tudor England doesn’t appeal to you, try A Place of Greater Safety (French Revolution) or Beyond Black (contemporary supernatural fiction). Both showcase her brilliance in different genres.
Has Hilary Mantel’s work been adapted for TV or film?
Yes. Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies were adapted by the Royal Shakespeare Company for the stage, then filmed for BBC television (2015), starring Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell. The adaptation was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards.
A television adaptation of The Mirror and the Light is in production with Mark Rylance returning as Cromwell.
How many books did Hilary Mantel write?
Hilary Mantel published 15 books during her lifetime:
- 12 novels
- 2 short story collections
- 1 memoir
She also wrote numerous essays, articles, and reviews for publications such as The London Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, and The Spectator.
Why did Hilary Mantel call it Wolf Hall?
Wolf Hall (also spelled Wulfhall) was the Seymour family estate in Wiltshire, home to Jane Seymour, who became Henry VIII’s third wife after Anne Boleyn’s execution. The title works on multiple levels: it represents a destination the first book moves toward, evokes the predatory nature of court politics, and captures the dangerous world Cromwell navigates.
Mantel said she chose it because it captured the menace underlying Tudor court life.
What time periods does Hilary Mantel write about?
Mantel wrote across multiple eras:
- Tudor England (1500-1540): The Wolf Hall trilogy
- French Revolution (1790s): A Place of Greater Safety
- 18th century: The Giant, O’Brien
- 19th-20th century contemporary settings: Several novels, including Beyond Black, Eight Months on Ghazzah Street, and others
Her most famous work is set in Tudor England, but she demonstrated a remarkable range across historical periods and genres.
Are Hilary Mantel’s books appropriate for young adults?
The Wolf Hall trilogy and most of Mantel’s work are best suited for mature readers (18 years and older). The books explore complex political intrigue, religious conflict, executions, and the violence of the Tudor era. The sophisticated prose and dense historical detail also make them challenging for younger readers.
That said, advanced teen readers (16-17) with a strong interest in Tudor history often successfully tackle Wolf Hall. The content isn’t gratuitously violent, but it doesn’t shy away from the brutality of the period.
Who is Hilary Mantel married to?
Hilary Mantel was married to Gerald McEwen, a geologist. They married in 1972 and remained together until her death in 2022. They lived together in various places, including Botswana, Saudi Arabia, and later in England and Ireland. The couple had no children.
McEwen was described as Mantel’s closest companion and first reader. He often accompanied her on research trips and provided support throughout her writing career.
Where is Hilary Mantel buried?
Details of Hilary Mantel’s funeral and burial were kept private by her family. She died in Exeter, Devon, where she had been living, but specific information about her final resting place has not been publicly disclosed.
Conclusion
Hilary Mantel transformed historical fiction, proving that novels about the past could achieve the highest literary excellence while remaining utterly compelling. Her Wolf Hall trilogy stands as one of the great achievements of 21st-century literature, a monumental work that will be read and studied for generations.
Though her life was cut short in 2022, her literary legacy is secure. The fifteen books she left behind showcase a brilliant mind, a generous imagination, and a revolutionary approach to understanding history through fiction. From Tudor England to revolutionary France, from contemporary England to 1980s Saudi Arabia, Mantel’s work explores power, faith, family, illness, and the enduring question of how we understand ourselves and our past.
For readers discovering Mantel now, you’re in for an extraordinary journey. Start with Wolf Hall and enter the Tudor court through Thomas Cromwell’s eyes. You’ll never see Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, or Thomas More the same way again.
