Tributes are pouring in for the late Dame Hilary Mantel after the news the writer has died at age 70.
The acclaimed novelist, who wrote novels including Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, is said to have died “suddenly but peacefully” surrounded by her close friends and family, HarperCollins announced.
In a message published in honor of the late Booker Prize winner, the publishing house wrote: ‘We are deeply saddened at the passing of our beloved author, Dame Hilary Mantel, and our thoughts are with her friends and family, especially her husband, Gerald. This is a devastating loss and we can only be grateful that she left us such a beautiful body of work.’
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, described Dame Hilary’s death as ‘so terribly sad news’.
“It is impossible to overestimate the significance of the literary legacy Hilary Mantel leaves behind,” the politician tweeted.
‘Her brilliant Wolf Hall trilogy was the culmination of an outstanding body of work. Rest in peace.’
Lawyer and TV personality Rob Rinder described her as a “writer of enduring gifts,” citing one of her own writings as saying, “Hope grabs you by the throat like a stranger, makes your heart beat faster.”
Bill Hamilton, her agent at the literary agency AM Heath, said it was “the greatest privilege” to work with her throughout her career.
“Her humor, stylistic audacity, creative ambition and phenomenal historical insight characterize her as one of the greatest novelists of our time,” he said.
“She will be remembered for her tremendous generosity to other budding writers, her ability to enthuse a live audience, and the sheer volume of journalism and criticism, which produced some of the best commentary on issues and books.”
Hamilton said there was always a slight aura of otherworldliness about her, because she saw and felt things that us mere mortals lacked.
He added that she was suffering from “chronic health problems,” which she “dealt with stoically.”
Paying tribute to Dame Hilary’s ‘eternal gifts’, author and screenwriter Emma Kennedy tweeted, ‘What a phenomenal writer she was. Eternal gifts that will be read for the rest of time. Going well Hilary. REST IN PEACE.’
Journalist Caitlin Moran wrote: ‘Hilary Mantel’s mind was one of the most powerful and magical machines on Earth.
“We were lucky she wrote as much as she did, but damn it, it’s devastating that we collectively lost something so amazing.”
More to follow.
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