Hilary Mantel’s Art Was Infused With Her Pain
The death of the British novelist is occasion to remember her genius as well as the chronic illness that shaped her work.
“Once the queen’s head is severed, he walks away. A sharp pang of appetite reminds him that it is time for a second breakfast, or perhaps an early dinner.”
These are the first two sentences of , the third volume of Hilary Mantel’s trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell and the last book she published before she died on Thursday at the lamentably young age of 70. With masterly dispatch, she thrusts us into the middle of the action, tells us exactly where we are, and makes us gasp at a conjunction of
