Hilary Mantel is an English Author. She is known for her works of historical fiction. She has been awarded the Man Booker Prize twice, firstly for the novel “Wolf Hall” (2009), a fictional account of Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power in the court of Henry VIII, and secondly for the novel “Bring Up the Bodies” (2012), the sequel to Wolf Hall. In 2013, she was included on Time magazine’s list of The 100 Most Influential People.
What is Hilary Mantel famous for?
- Her award-winning historical novels “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies”.
- Being the winner of the two Man Booker Prize.
Where was Hilary Mantel born?
Hilary Mantel was born in Glossop, Derbyshire, England on July 6, 1952. Her birth name is Hilary Mary Thompson. She was born to father, Henry Thompson, and mother, Margaret Thompson. She was raised in the mill village of Hadfield along with her two younger siblings. Later her parents separated and her mother married Jack Mantel. She later took the name Mantel from her stepfather. Hilary holds an English nationality and her ethnicity is white. She is of Irish descent. Her zodiac sign is cancer.
About her education, she attended St Charles Roman Catholic primary school. Later on, she attended the Harrytown Convent school in Romiley, Cheshire. After high school graduation, she enrolled in the London School of Economics to read law but soon, she transferred to the University of Sheffield and completed her graduation as Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1973. She received an honorary degree from Oxford University in 2015.
Hilary Mantel’s Career Highlights
- In prior, Hilary Mantel was a social worker at a geriatric hospital and then worked as a sales assistant in a department store.
- In 1985, her first novel, “Every Day Is Mother’s Day” was published and she published its sequel, “Vacant Possession” in 1986.
- In 1987, she wrote an essay for the British Magazine ‘The Spectator’ about her experiences in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia.
- From 1987 to 1991, she served as a film critic and magazines or book reviewer for ‘The Spectator’.
- Her next novel, “Eight Months on Ghazzah Street”(a political thriller charged with a sense of extreme cultural conflict) was published in 1988.
- Her ‘Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize’ winning novel “Fludd” (a fanciful religious mystery) is published in 1989.
- In 1992, she published the novel “A Place of Greater Safety” which detailed the French Revolution.
- She wrote about British missionaries in South Africa in the novel “A Change of Climate” in 1994.
- In 1995, she published the novel “An Experiment in Love” which won Hawthornden Prize.
- In 1998, she published the novel “The Giant, O’Brien” which is based on the true story of Irish giant, Charles Byrne (or O’Brien).
- In 2003, she published her memoir “Giving Up the Ghost” that depicts her anxiety-ridden childhood and her later struggle with illness.
- In 2005, she came with the novel “Beyond Black” which was shortlisted for the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction.
- In 2009, she published a historical novel “Wolf Hall” which is a sympathetic fictionalized biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII through to the death of Sir Thomas More. The novel was honored with the Man Booker Prize, and it became an international bestseller.
- In 2012, she published “Bring Up the Bodies” the sequel to Wolf Hall. It is also won the Man Booker Prize as well as the Costa Book of the Year Award.
- In 2020, she published the third novel of the Thomas Cromwell trilogy, called “The Mirror and the Light” which covers the last four years of Cromwell’s life.
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Hilary Mantel’s Awards and Honors
- In 1990, she won the ‘Cheltenham Prize’ and ‘Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize’ for her novel “Fludd”.
- In 1992, she won ‘Sunday Express Book of the Year’ for her novel “A Place of Greater Safety”.
- In 1996, she achieved the ‘Hawthornden Prize’ for her novel “An Experiment in Love”.
- In 2003, she won the ‘MIND Book of the Year’ award for her memoir novel “Giving Up the Ghost”.
- In 2006, she was shortlisted for ‘Commonwealth Writers Prize’ and ‘Orange Prize for Fiction’ for the novel “Beyond Black”.
- In 2009, she received Honorary DLitt from Sheffield Hallam University.
- In 2009, she won Man Booker Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award for her novel “Wolf Hall”.
- In 2010, she won Walter Scott Prize for “Wolf Hall”. She was also shortlisted for Orange Prize for Fiction for “Wolf Hall”.
- In 2012, she won her second Man Booker Prize for the novel “Bring Up the Bodies”. She has also won Specsavers National Book Awards “UK Author of the Year” and Costa Book Awards for “Bring Up the Bodies”.
- In 2013, she received Honorary DLitt from the University of Cambridge, the University of Derby, and the Bath Spa University.
- In 2015, she received Honorary DLitt from the University of Oxford and an Honorary degree from Oxford Brookes University.
- In 2016, she received the British Academy President’s Medal.
- In 2016, she won the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement.
- In 2020, she has been longlisted for The Man Booker Prize for her novel “Mirror and The Light”.
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Hilary Mantel’s Husband
Hilary Mantel is a married woman. She married a geologist Gerald McEwen in 1972. After some time, the couple divorced in 1981 but that wasn’t the end of their story though, because they were re-married in 1982. The couple doesn’t have any children because she had suffered from severe endometriosis and the treatment has left her unable to bear children.
Hilary Mantel’s Height
Hilary Mantel is a beautiful woman in her late 60s. She has a fair skin tone. Her body measurements are not determined. Her sexual orientation is straight.
Hilary Mantel’s Net Worth
Hilary Mantel is a successful Novelist. As of 2020, she has an estimated net worth of $1 Million – $5 Million. Her primary income source is mostly from her writing career. There is no information about her salary.
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