This recent New Yorker article does a great job of tying her childhood experiences in her memoir, and her beliefs, to all her books, not just the most famous ones. At Bradford's funeral, Claire attends on day release from prison. Amanda ponders about whether she would be next in line to take over at the company, but Sheila, who arrived late and hears this exchange, tells her that two years as a receptionist does not qualify. As Betty is delivering a eulogy, Wilhelmina and Marc show up, hoping to make her last remarks. After Wilhelmina comments about Claire's prison uniform, Claire trips Wilhelmina, causing her to fall into Bradford's empty grave. Wilhelmina is fired by unanimous decision of Claire, Daniel, and Alexis.

In Mandel’s taut sequel to Wolf Hall, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn have been married for more than two years, but unable to produce a male heir. Boleyn’s position becomes tenuous—especially with Thomas Continue reading » High art meets soap opera in this beautifully written but high-strung sixth novel from Britain's Hawthornden-winner Mantel. Ralph and Anna Eldred are newlyweds in the mid-1960s, when Ralph is offered Continue reading » Days after turning down Daniel's offer to return to work, Betty's subconscious manifests in the form of Bradford Meade's ghost, lecturing her for ignoring what he told her before he died, despite Betty's insistence that she is not ready to return. We can’t overcome the power of death on our own. Only Jesus could accomplish that by choosing to die as the perfect righteous Son of God in a human body to defeat the power of death over humanity. This is a finished work Christ invites us into through faith and grace.Much else in this novel fascinated me. Her awareness is not like any other I have shared, and share it I did. To read this memoir is to be inside her mind and way of thinking. One of my difficulties was that I had not understood school was compulsory. I thought that you could just give it a try and that if you didn’t like it you were free to revert to your former habits. To me, it was getting in the way of the vital assistance I gave my grandad, and wasting hours of my time every day. But then it was broken to me that you had to go. Not to go, my mother said, was against the law. But what if I didn’t, I asked, what would occur? She supposed, said my mother, we would be summonsed. I said, is that like sued? I had heard the word ‘sued’. It sounded to me like the long, stinking hiss emitted when a tap was turned on the gas cooker, before the match was applied. Sued, gas: the words had a lower hiss than ‘marzipan’, and long after they were spoken their trail lingered on the air, invisible and dangerous. Growing up, people often told me that life was no picnic (I'm not sure why, since I was already a gloomy little pessimist). These days it seems a very unfashionable thing to say, especially to kids. But although life was, and is, pretty good, I sometimes mutter this to myself and feel oddly comforted by it. Because life really can be shitty sometimes. Insisting that all obstacles can be overcome, anything is possible, you can do whatever you want etc seems so counterproductive to me, because it obviously isn't true. Shit happens, and while you may try to deal with it as graciously as possible, there are times when there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Admitting this is in itself a relief, I think. Maybe I'm just a grumpy misanthrope, but inspirational stories about overcoming adversity make me gag. Firstly, it is wonderfully written. Although Mantel is now a well known prize winning author, this is in fact the only thing I've ever read by her. Her use of language, the rhythm of her writing and her style is masterful. There is a lot for anyone interested in the craft of writing to admire. Secondly, her insight into her life and the things she has gone through is brilliantly described. Thirdly, although it is not a happy book, it is not without humour, mostly through the way she writes than humorous episodes themselves. Occasional sentences or even half sentences are funny. It's also the only Hilary Mantel I've read, though I'm aware of her stature as a historical novelist, and I've listened to her on the radio and read articles by her in newspapers.

After the business of the flats, my mother says: ‘I’m getting us a house!’ She goes to the District Bank for her savings. We go uphill to Brosscroft. My mother says: this is the house I have got. The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me.”

LISTEN: A Prayer for Loved Ones Who Don't Know Jesus

In postwar rural England, Hilary Mantel grew up convinced that the most extraordinary feats were within her grasp. But at nineteen, she became ill. Through years of misdiagnosis, she suffered patronizing psychiatric treatment and destructive surgery that left her without hope of children.

John’s gospel provides a slightly different perspective on the moment of Jesus’ death. The final words in John 19:28-30 are “It is finished!” followed by bowing his head and giving up his spirit.Instead of celebrating the mystical side of "sensitives," the people who travel England's contemporary psychic "fayre" circuit, Mantel (A Change of Continue reading » When the day of Holy Communion came, I was amazed at how the body of Christ pasted itself to my front teeth and furred my hard palate. It was like eating smog. St Catherine of Siena said that when she took the host into her mouth she could feel the bones of Jesus crunching between her teeth. She must have been a very imaginative sort of nun. We celebrated and grieved my uncle near his home in Ohio. We told stories and comforted one another. For those of faith, we declared we would see him again one day, as he was a man of faith and service in his local church.