Dame Hilary Mantel – 1952-2022
Friday 23rd September: Dame Hilary Mantel has died, aged 70 it was announced by her publicist today.
The First Woman to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize twice and a First Women UK ambassador, she died ‘suddenly, yet peacefully’ on Thursday, 22nd September.
Arguably the nation’s greatest writer of historical fiction, Dame Hilary Mantel was a novelist, essayist and critic. A law graduate from the London School of Economics, Hilary grew up in Derbyshire, and lived in Africa and Saudi Arabia. The RSC adaptation of her Tudor novels, ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up The Bodies’ played in Stratford-on-Avon, the West End and Broadway, and the acclaimed TV series of ‘Wolf Hall’ was shown on BBC2 in 2015.
Author of 13 books, Hilary blended extraordinary, organic characterisation with the traditionally linear elements of academia and research. Her accolades included the Costa Novel prize, the Walter Scott prize and the Sunday Express Book of the Year. She was awarded her CBE in 2006 and a DBE in 2014.
It was a deep pleasure to have photographed and interviewed her for the First Women UK project – we were so warmly welcomed into her home.
Our thoughts are with her husband, Gerald and her family.
You can read her inspiring interview HERE.
