Hilary Mantel, acclaimed author of ‘Wolf Hall’ Tudor saga, dies at 70
- Described as the greatest modern English prose writer by Man Booker Prize judges, Mantel is credited with reenergising historical fiction in her novels
- Her books about the 16th-century English power broker Thomas Cromwell, right-hand man to King Henry VIII, transformed him into a charismatic anti-hero
Hilary Mantel, the Man Booker Prize-winning author who turned Tudor power politics into page-turning fiction in the acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy of historical novels, has died, her publisher said Friday. She was 70.
The acclaimed writer died “suddenly yet peacefully” on Thursday surrounded by close family and friends, publisher HarperCollins said.
Mantel is credited with reenergising historical fiction with Wolf Hall and two sequels about the 16th-century English power broker Thomas Cromwell, right-hand man to King Henry VIII – and in Mantel’s hands, the charismatic anti-hero of a bloody, high-stakes political drama.
The publisher released a statement in which it said Mantel was “one of the greatest English novelists of this century ... Her beloved works are considered modern classics. She will be greatly missed.”
Author JK Rowling tweeted: “We’ve lost a genius.” Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it is “impossible to overstate the significance of the literary legacy Hilary Mantel leaves behind.”
Mantel won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction twice, for Wolf Hall in 2009 and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies in 2012. Both were adapted for the stage and television. The trilogy’s final instalment, Mirror and the Light, was published in 2020.