Hillary Mantel who wrote the Wolf Triology has died suddenly at the age of 70. Why have I mentioned it on the forum. Because she died of a stroke a circulatory issue like CHD and PAD.
I will be honest, I just could not get into the first volume so never read the Triology or watched the TV adaptions of the first two books.
I imagine on years to come somebody will write about this period but will it be regarded as a work of fiction!
Not read neither. But I am 71, so it's a worry.
I found Wolf Hall hard going, so I am afraid I gave up! 😌
I very much enjoyed the first two books in the series and the TV adaptation as I'm a big fan of the Tudor era and Thomas Cromwell is an interesting man.I do have the third book but it is on my list of books to read next.I'm sorry to hear about Hilary Mantel..taken too soon.
I also was unable to get on with her books. I much preferred the Shardlake series covering the same period by C J Sampson. I think Hilary had chronic health issues throughout her life
Loved her writing and the way she brought that period of history so vividly to life.
Rest well Hilary { hopefully not back in that era } my thoughts are with your family and loved ones including your many fans around the globe.
sad news- I have read the trilogy- & her memoir & she is definitely a favourite of mine!
She was undoubtedly a great writer - her books require some stamina to get through them!! She won the Booker Prize twice. Sorry to read of her death at a relatively young age. Rather brings home the precarious and precious nature of this life.
Enjoyed her books I have to say. Thoughts to her family as 70 is no age at all
Delighted to read so many comments saying 70 is no age at all and taken far too soon. 70 has always been my big stumbling block. My mum died at 67,(heart) my dad at 72. (cancer) When I hit 70 I was terrified and just to rub it in,, 4 months later I had a heart attack. I'm now 75 but have lived those years expecting every day to be my last, unable to plan anything ahead or even get my other health problems treated ( What's the point?). So to read all these opinions is great. Not helped by my grandfather who was terrified when approaching 50. ALL his 12 siblings died of heart problems before 50. Yes he made it but was always worried.
I come from several lines of fairly long lived families, but I know that that hasn't provided any guarantees for my life. When I was questioned about the possible cause for my heart attack when I was 65, I was asked about my father and had to say that he died aged 45, but it was in a road traffic accident. Then I was asked about my paternal grandfather. No useful information there either as he died aged 19 in France in WW1. Basically, there by the Grace of God have gone I, now with 70 years on the clock. I regularly wonder what age my father and grandfather would have reached had events not intervened. 😀
True, no guarantees. My dad had the all clear from 10 years of bladder cancer just a year before he got prostate cancer which caused his death. Mum had her heart damaged by eclampsia when pregnant with me. Mother in law was treated for high BP for half her life. She lived to be 98
I have read all three of the Wolf Hall books, but found the third one a real struggle. Overly long and somewhat repetitive, but if BBC ever get round to televise it, I'll definitely watch. RIP Hilary.
I have a year and bit to get to 70, and you're right - it is no age at all. In my head I'm still about 35, although my hip replacements say otherwise.
I do hope you're keeping well Michael.
I adored the trilogy and mourn her loss because there will be no more of these wonderful reads. There’s the thing we are all so different . As are our heart problems. It’s good to hear everyone’s point of view and ways they are coping with them.
70 is indeed no age, but HilaryMantel had suffered health issues since her teens and much chronic pain, which must have a very wearing effect on the body. I always admired her grit and determination in finishing The Mirror & The Light; physical health problems aside, after the first two books in the trilogy were so successful, the mental pressure on her must have been enormous!
What a wonderful writer she was, I started off by reading 8 Months on Ghazzah St and found her to be a writer with amazing insight, a great researcher and fabulous depth of characterisation. I am very sorry to learn of her death.
Heartbroken widow 
Enlarged Heart Chamber information 
Carpbait
