Edmund Gordon discusses whether Hilary Mantel's final Cromwell novel lives up to its billing - and whether, at 900-odd pages, it is the right length; Muriel Zagha looks at the female gaze in French cinema, with respect to the new film Portrait of a Lady on Fire; Irina Dumitrescu talks about how to write well, and when to break the rulesThe Mirror & the Light, by Hilary MantelPortrait of a Lady on Fire, by Céline SciammaWhy They Can't Write, by John WarnerWriting to Persuade, by Trish HallEvery Day I Write the Book, by Amitava Kumar  First You Write a Sentence, by Joe MoranMeander, Spiral, Explode, by Jane Alison
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