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A Memoir of My Former Self
A Life in Writing
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A Memoir of My Former Self
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
The magnificent final book from the bestselling author of the Wolf Hall Trilogy
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Description
'A guide to the mind of one of the great English novelists of the last half-century' Guardian
'Like hearing the voice of an old friend' Observer
'Extraordinary . . . a quality of timelessness and prescience' New Statesman, Book of the Year
'Magical . . . Here we meet not just Mantel the Cromwell-catcher, but Mantel the quill-sharp critic of contemporary life' The Times, Book of the Year
The magnificent final book from the bestselling author of the Wolf Hall Trilogy
As well as her celebrated career as a novelist, Hilary Mantel long contributed to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it. This strand of her writing was an integral part of how she thought of herself. 'Ink is a generative fluid,' she explains. 'If you don't mean your words to breed consequences, don't write at all.' A Memoir of My Former Self collects the finest of this writing over four decades.
Mantel's subjects are wide-ranging. She discusses nationalism and her own sense of belonging; our dream life flopping into our conscious life; the mythic legacy of Princess Diana; the many themes that feed into her novels—revolutionary France, psychics, Tudor England—and other novelists, from Jane Austen to V. S. Naipaul. She writes about her father and the man who replaced him; she writes fiercely and heartbreakingly about the battles with her health she endured as a young woman, and the stifling years she found herself living in Saudi Arabia. Here, too, is a selection of her film reviews—from When Harry Met Sally to RoboCop—and, published for the first time, her stunning Reith Lectures, which explore the process of art bringing history and the dead back to life.
From her unique childhood to her all-consuming fascination with Thomas Cromwell that grew into the Wolf Hall Trilogy, A Memoir of My Former Self reveals the shape of Hilary Mantel's life in her own dazzling words, 'messages from people I used to be.' Compelling, often very funny, always luminous, it is essential reading from one of our greatest writers.
'A smart, deft, meticulous, thoughtful writer, with such a grasp of the dark and spidery corners of human nature' Margaret Atwood 'Mantel was a queen of literature . . . her reign was long, varied and uncontested' Maggie O'FarrellBook Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Hilary Mantel's posthumous collection, A Memoir of My Former Self, showcases her extraordinary range, tackling diverse subjects with playfulness, keen intelligence, and a sharp critical voice. Critics praise it as a rich and illuminating testament to Mantel's formidable talent, blending wit, dark humour, and compassionate insight. Her essays are regarded as timeless and prescient, offering a window into the mind of a great novelist and critic, and reminding readers of the significant literary voice that has been lost.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781399813891
Publisher: John Murray Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 19 October 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: John Murray Publishers Ltd
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 32.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 232.0mm
Weight: 520g
Pages: 400
Collections
About the Author
Hilary Mantel is the author of seventeen books, including A Place of Greater Safety, Beyond Black, the memoir Giving Up the Ghost and the short story collection The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher. Her final novel, The Mirror & the Light, won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, while Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies were both awarded the Booker Prize. She was the film reviewer for The Spectator, 1986-90, and went on to write extensively for the New York Review of Books, Guardian and the London Review of Books. She died in 2022.
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