Hilary Mantel calls for skeleton of ‘Irish Giant’ to be returned to his homeland

Wolf Hall author Dame Hilary Mantel has called for the skeleton of the 18th Century ‘Irish Giant’ currently held by the Royal College of Surgeons to be repatriated after he asked to be buried at sea. Mantel wrote The Giant, O’Brien, a fictionalised account of 8ft 4in Charles Byrne, who suffered from acromegalic gigantism and … Read more

Why Henry VIII was king of the lockdown, reveals author Dame Hilary Mantel

Why Henry VIII was king of the lockdown and would have been only too aware of the risks posed by scourges such as the plague, reveals author Dame Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mantel believes life in a crisis under King Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell would have been even tougher She explained Tudors knew more … Read more

Meghan Markle ‘was a smiling face in a dull institution’, says author Dame Hilary Mantel

Meghan Markle ‘was a smiling face in a dull institution’ and ‘too good to be true’ for the monarchy, according to novelist Dame Hilary Mantel.   The British Booker Prize-winning author, 67, spoke with Harper’s Bazaar to celebrate the publication of the final installment of her bestselling Tudor trilogy, The Mirror & the Light. Photographed at Hampton Court Palace, the … Read more

Hilary Mantel, Michelle Gallen and Marina Lewycka: This week’s best new fiction

From Hilary Mantel’s cracking The Mirror & The Light to a funny debut by Michelle Gallen and Marina Lewycka’s latest, this week’s best new fiction By Hephzibah Anderson and Amber Pearson For Event Magazine and Eithne Farry For Event Magazine Published: 22:02 GMT, 29 February 2020 | Updated: 22:02 GMT, 29 February 2020 The Mirror … Read more