What really disconcerts commentators, I suspect, is that when they read historical fiction, they feel their own lack of education may be exposed; they panic, because they don't know which bits are true. Hilary Mantel bitcommentatordisconcert share on social
History is always changing behind us, and the past changes a little every time we retell it. Hilary Mantel changehistorypast Change image and share on social
Fiction leaves us so much work to do, allows the individual so much input; you have to see, you have to hear, you have to taste the madeleine, and while you are seemingly passive in your chair, you have to travel. Hilary Mantel chairfictionhear share on social
Much historical fiction that centers on real people has always been deficient in information, lacking in craft and empty in affect. Hilary Mantel affectcentercraft Change image and share on social
As a writer, you owe it to yourself not to get stuck in a rut of looking at the world in a certain way. Hilary Mantel owerutstick Change image and share on social
I think I would have been a reasonably good lawyer. I have a faculty for making sense of mountains of information. Hilary Mantel facultygoodinformation Change image and share on social
Psychics tap into what is collective: our regret and our sense of time going by; our common repression and anxieties. Hilary Mantel anxietycollectivecommon Change image and share on social
For many imaginative writers, working for the press is a fact of their life. But it's best not to like it too much. Hilary Mantel factimaginativelife Change image and share on social
I'm one of these children who grew up at the knee of my grandmother and her elder sister, listening to very old people talk about their memories. Hilary Mantel childeldergrandmother Change image and share on social
Writing comes from that territory of being invalidated. But I had a sense of purpose, too. I wanted to stop apologising for my health, and I thought I might do some good. Hilary Mantel apologisegoodhealth Change image and share on social