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Mirror and the Light Hilary Mantel....while I'm waiting

34 replies

CountessConstance · 03/03/2019 18:57

I loved the first two of the Thomas Cromwell books; I cannot remember when I last was so engrossed in a book. It lived (lives) on in my head, in a way that few books do.

So, while I am waiting for the next one (please God, before August, so I can bring it on holidays) is there anything that you've found simultaneously, as stimulating and challenging, and yet a page-turning good read?

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Clawdy · 25/05/2019 22:44

I saw her at the Oxford Lit Fest about five years ago, and she read some of the last page of The Mirror And The Light, and you could have heard a pin drop.It was Cromwell dying and he can hear a voice saying "So get up....." just like the opening page of the first book. I've been desperate to read it ever since! Roll on March!

Afreet · 24/05/2019 09:37

She said somewhere in an interview that she actually wrote his death fairly early on in the process of writing the third volume she doesn't write in chronological order so apparently TC has been 'dead' (again) for years already. Grin

AdaColeman · 24/05/2019 09:23

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears is a book I found as compelling as Wolf Hall.

How difficult it must be for Hilary to snuff out the life of TC!

Afreet · 24/05/2019 09:02

I heard this a couple of weeks ago at an event, but was afraid to believe it. As someone who doesn't read series, ever, I don't know when I've been so happy to hear a confirmed date for a book.

HappydaysArehere · 24/05/2019 08:23

Sorry to be a damp squid but I don’t think the new one comes out until 2020. At least that is what Waterstones are saying as they offer a preordering option.

ProperVexed · 23/05/2019 12:44

Thanks for the warning. So March 2020.....seems a long time to wait but at least we have something to look forward to after Christmas!

shitwithsugaron · 23/05/2019 12:36

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Unguent · 06/03/2019 23:12

Milkman is genius, Countess.

I imagine Hilary Mantel also feels under ferocious pressure to write a third novel that both lives up to the first two, and does Cromwell’s downfall and death justice. (Apparently she doesn’t write in chronological order — at least I think I’ve read this in more than one interview — and has already written his death.) So, no pressure...

Original poster
CountessConstance · 06/03/2019 22:55

Oh yes, Seaweed, I cannot imagine carrying it on the Tube or train....and it's certainly not replacing Netflix in the bath.

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SeaweedDress · 06/03/2019 19:00

I'm afraid part of the reason I've never finished it is that I do a lot of reading on public transport and in the bath, and it is like carrying a large family Bible around with you (and hard on the wrists in the bath...)

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CountessConstance · 06/03/2019 19:00

But, I've also got "Milkman" on my reading list and I'm not good with "stream of consciousness" books :-/

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Original poster
CountessConstance · 06/03/2019 18:58

"A Place of Greater Safety" arrived this morning.....what a tome- it's a real doorstopper of a book cant wait to dig in.

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TonTonMacoute · 06/03/2019 17:06

Zoe Oldenburg's 'The Workd is Not Enough' and 'The Cornerstone' are brilliant.

They are set during the 12th century, and are not as political as Wolf Hall, but are well written and the period detail is utterly convincing.

SeaweedDress · 06/03/2019 08:21

I think her mother’s death may have been a couple of years ago now — and HM has always had very poor health. (Her memoir is the most infuriating read on the long term failure to diagnose her endometriosis, which is why she doesn’t have children.) She’s said in a number of interviews that she had unusuallly good health for her while working on the Cromwell novels, so I’m hoping that hasn’t ended.

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CountessConstance · 06/03/2019 06:43

Oh? that's a pity Clawdy.
Though, as above, if Hilary has had a bereavement and been unwell, I can understand.

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SeaweedDress · 05/03/2019 23:23

I definitely don’t think so, Clawdy. More’s the pity.

Clawdy · 05/03/2019 22:42

I'm afraid it doesn't look as if The Mirror And The Light will be published this year, though I hope I'm wrong. I saw an article in the new year, listing the top books to be published this year, month by month, and there was no mention of it.

boldlygoingsomewhere · 05/03/2019 18:12

I’m also looking forward to the next instalment. I loved Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies and the way she turned perceptions of Cromwell and More on their hand. I went to a Catholic school and More was obviously well-regarded. She made me loath him in the book!

Original poster
CountessConstance · 05/03/2019 08:06

Oh fab, more recommendations.

I have to be honest and say that it's not so much the period about which she is writing that entrances me, so much her writing, her attention to detail, her use of language, her insights into motivations and manipulations.

I'm sorry to hear that Hilary has lost her mother and had bad health. Sad

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ProperVexed · 05/03/2019 06:08

Ooh.. thanks for the heads up. I didn't know there was another one coming. I'll have a look at the others recommended on this thread. I'll second Elkiedee in that the Shardlake series is fantastic.

SeaweedDress · 05/03/2019 05:36

I’ve attempted A Place of Greater Safety several times, and despite being a devoted HM fan, couldn’t get on with it at all. I love her Beyond Black, though.

A mutual slight acquaintance says that being involved with the RSC production stopped all work on The Mirror and the Light for a long time, her health is currently poor again, and that HM’s mother died. I’m still hoping...

elkiedee · 05/03/2019 05:13

Hilary Mantel's more contemporary novels are good too - I llked Eight Months on Ghazzah Street especially.

Have you read C J Sansom's Shardlake books? They are set in 16th century England and feature a lawyer, who at the beginning of the series is working for Thomas Cromwell, though it should be said that Cromwell is not a central character.

Original poster
CountessConstance · 04/03/2019 22:13

oooh good, eddismairswife

Although, with all of these recommendations, I worry, that it may turn out to be like a madly anticipated film. Never seems as good as the one that you went to, just because your friend wanted to see it.

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eddiemairswife · 04/03/2019 21:38

I lent A Place of Greater Safety to a French friend. She loved it and said that although she had done the French Revolution at school, she learnt such a lot more from the book.

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CountessConstance · 04/03/2019 21:31

Thanks Barton and TemporaryPermanent?
I've ordered that one and am looking forward to reading.

She is such an intelligent writer or she makes me feel intelligent while reading.

I downloaded "The Sunne in Splendour" last night (but fell asleep before starting on it).

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