Bibliograph

A memoir of my former self, a life in writing, Hilary Mantel ; edited by Nicholas Pearson

Type

Label

A memoir of my former self, a life in writing, Hilary Mantel ; edited by Nicholas Pearson

Language

eng

resource.biographical

autobiography

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

A memoir of my former self

Responsibility statement

Hilary Mantel ; edited by Nicholas Pearson

Sub title

a life in writing

Summary

"In addition to her celebrated career as a novelist, Hilary Mantel contributed for years to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it. '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. Her subjects are wide-ranging, sharply observed, and beautifully rendered. She discusses nationalism and her own sense of belonging; our dream life popping 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 that she endured as a young woman, and the stifling years she found herself living in Saudi Arabia. Here, too, is her legendary essay 'Royal Bodies, ' on our endless fascination with the current royal family. From her unusual childhood to her all-consuming interest in 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 luminous words, through 'messages from people I used to be.' Filled with her singular wit and wisdom, it is essential listening from one of our greatest writers"--, Provided by publisher

Classification