Remembering Hilary Mantel

'A novel should be a book of questions, not a book of answers.'

History is always changing behind us, and the past changes a little each time we retell it.

Widely considered to be one of Britain's finest writers, Hilary Mantel, passed away last week on September 22. The British author was best known for her bestselling trilogy portraying the life of Thomas Cromwell and his powerful influence during the tumultuous years of Henry VIII's reign. Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, the first two novels of the series, both earned the Booker Prize. The final installment, The Mirror & the Light was longlisted for the same prize. In addition to historical fiction, Mantel's body of work includes contemporary novels, memoir, short stories, and journalistic articles.

A Haunted Childhood

I spend a lot of my time talking to the dead, but since I get paid for it, no one thinks I'm mad.

In Mantel's memoir, Giving Up the Ghost, she describes a fraught childhood and difficult relationships with her parents. She says that when she was seven, her mother moved her lover into the family home despite the fact that her father still lived there. When her father did move out, four years later, it marked the end of her relationship with him—something she expressed regret about.

She also wrote about her relationship with religion. She grew up Catholic and talked about her childhood preoccupation with the "unseen reality." From an early age, she said she felt the presence of spirits around her and, at times, within her. These visitations undoubtedly contributed to her work reincarnating figures from the past in such a vibrant, visceral way. She said, "When I deal with my characters in history, the fact that they're dead doesn't seem—it doesn't seem to obtrude. Shall we put it that way?"

Illness and Early Works

I've got so many ideas, and sometimes the more exhausted my body gets, the more active my mind gets.

At the age of 19, Mantel began to suffer from unexplained illness and pain. Seeking medical help was a frustrating experience as doctors diagnosed her problems as psychological and prescribed antidepressants, sedatives, and antipsychotics, none of which helped. At 27, a desperate Mantel took things into her own hands. Researching her symptoms, she correctly diagnosed herself with endometriosis, a common gynecological condition. By then, the disease had taken its toll on Mantel's reproductive system and the recommended treatment was a hysterectomy. She continued to suffer from the impacts of this illness throughout her life.

Mantel maintained that being ill much of the time drew her to a career as a writer since she was unable to hold a regular job. But it may also have impacted her ability to find early success despite her obvious talent. Her first novel, A Place of Greater Safety, was initially rejected by publishers because she was an unknown author and the book was over 700 pages long. Set during the French Revolution, the story bears some similarities to Wolf Hall as it sympathizes with Robespierre, who, like Cromwell, is often seen as a villainous figure in history. The book was eventually published in 1992

Despite early setbacks, Mantel carried on as a novelist and found modest success starting with her first published novel, Every Day is Mother's Day, the story of an unhinged medium and her "half-wit" daughter, who she keeps locked away. The sequel, Vacant Possession, focuses on the daughter's story. Mantel's stories are insightful, darkly comic, unorthodox, and thrilling. Some of our favorites include:

• Fludd: It's 1956 and a mysterious figure turns up in the dismal village of Fetherhoughton, bringing about strange miracles.
• The Giant, O'Brien: The titular Giant travels from Ireland to London in 1782 to exhibit his size for money. There he finds himself hunted by a man of science who lusts after the Giant's corpse as a medical mystery.
• Beyond Black: The story of a charismatic, corpulent psychic whose connection to the spiritual world torments her.

Finding Cromwell

Since I was a very small child, I've had a kind of reverence for the past, and I felt a very intimate connection with it.

Mantel first became interested in the story of Thomas Cromwell when she was in high school after learning about his role in dissolving Britain's monasteries. When she began reading novels that included him as a character, she was disappointed by what she saw as a less-than compelling portrayal. "I realized that some imaginative work is due on this man," she said.

The author shared some similarities with her most famous character. Like Cromwell, she was a clear-eyed pragmatist, a problem-solver, and a gifted creator. When she began writing Wolf Hall, she said it felt like finding solid ground "after swimming and swimming." She added, "I knew from the first paragraph that this was going to be the best thing I’d ever done."

Her Literary Legacy

What fascinates me are the turning points where history could have been different.

Sharp-witted and acerbic, Mantel didn't fear controversy. She was known to thwart authority with her work, drawing fire at times for expressing her opinions, like during a 2013 speech in which she compared Kate Middleton to "a shop-window mannequin." Her work often tested boundaries as well. Officials and politicians were incensed by a story from her 2014 collection that imagined the assassination of Margaret Thatcher.

Nonetheless, she became a national icon and, in 2015, was anointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by then-Prince Charles. She was also a widely revered figure in the literary world. The news of her death prompted tributes from many prominent writers like Susan Orlean, Bernardine Evaristo, and Laila Lalami. She will be missed.

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon