Booker Prize winner British author Hilary Mantel dies at 70

British Novelist Hilary Mantel died peacefully at the age of 70 on September 22. The celebrated author won the Booker Prize twice for her novel Wolf Hall and the sequel, Bring up the bodies. The trilogy Mirror and the Light became an instant best seller in fiction as soon as it was published in 2020.

Bring up the bodies, which was a sequel to Wolf Hall, was also awarded the Costa Book of the Year for 2012.

The Wolf Hall saga has sold more than five million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 40 languages. Its TV adaptation became a hit West End show and won a Golden Globe.


Hilary's Personal Life

Dame Hilary was born in 1952 in Glossop, Derbyshire. She graduated in law from the University of Sheffield. In 1973, she married a geologist, Gerald McEwen. They moved to Botswana, where they spent five years. Later they shifted to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where there stayed for four years before moving back to the UK.

Hilary published her memoirs for this period outside the UK in the London Review of Books. She later expressed that leaving Jeddah was the happiest day of her life.

Hilary's Literary Works

She published her first novel, Every Day is Mother’s Day, in the year 1985. She wrote 17 books which gathered much admiration from her readers. Her famous novels include Vacant Possession, Learning to talk, Fludd, and one of her most celebrated and award-winning series, the Wolf Hall Trilogy. The Wolf Hall was historical fiction about the rise and fall of Hilary was made a Dame for her services to literature in 2014 and was awarded a Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006.

FAQ

1. Who was Hilary Mantel's Agent throughout her career?
   Hilary Mantel’s agent was Bill Hamilton.

1. Which Novel made Hilary Mantel an international star and got her the Booker Prize?
   Hilary was awarded the Booker Prize for the Wolf Hall Trilogy.

1. How many books did Hilary write?
   Hilary wrote 17 books.