'Wolf Hall' author Dame Hilary Mantel dies aged 70

The writer's agent says it's 'an enormous loss to literature' after she suffers a sudden stroke

Dame Hilary Mental, author of 'Wolf Hall', died 'suddenly yet peacefully' surrounded by close family and friends aged 70, publishers HarperCollins has announced. PA

Mantel at a signing for her book 'The Mirror and the Light' at Waterstones Piccadilly, London, in March 2020. Getty Images

'The Mirror and the Light' is the final part of her 'Wolf Hall' trilogy. Getty Images

She was made a dame for services to literature at Buckingham Palace, London, in February 2015. Getty Images

'Wolf Hall', first published in 2009, and its sequel 'Bring Up the Bodies' were turned into a stage production in May 2014. PA

Mantel's novel 'Bring Up the Bodies' won the Costa Book of the Year Award in 2012. AP

She collected the honour at an awards ceremony at The Guildhall, London, in October 2012. Getty Images

Mantel (centre) with fellow Man Booker Prize shortlisted authors, Tan Twan Eng, Deborah Levy, Will Self, Alison Moore and Jeet Thayil at a photocall in October 2012. AP Photo

Mantel won the Man Booker Prize for 'Wolf Hall'. AP

In 2006, Mantel received a CBE from Queen Elizabeth II. PA

Author Dame Hilary Mantel has died aged 70.

She was best known for her historical fiction series the Wolf Hall trilogy, which won her two Booker Prize awards.

"It is with great sadness that AM Heath and HarperCollins announce that bestselling author Dame Hilary Mantel DBE died suddenly yet peacefully yesterday, surrounded by close family and friends, aged 70," publishers HarperCollins said in a statement.

"Hilary Mantel was one of the greatest English novelists of this century and her beloved works are considered modern classics. She will be greatly missed."

She died in Devon, England, and her literary agent Bill Hamilton at AM Heath said it had been the "greatest privilege" to work with her. He confirmed that her cause of death was a stroke.

“She had so many great novels ahead of her,” Hamilton told the New York Times, saying that she was working on a novel at the time of her death.

“It’s just an enormous loss to literature,” he added.

The Wolf Hall trilogy follows the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell in the series, which features Wolf Hall (2009), Bring Up the Bodies (2012) and The Mirror and the Light (2020). Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies were Man Booker Prize winners.

To date, the trilogy has sold more than five million copies around the world and has been translated into 41 languages.

Mantel was born in Derbyshire, England, on July 6, 1952.

After studying law at the London School of Economics and Sheffield University, she worked as a social worker, spending five years in Botswana and four years in Saudi Arabia. In the mid-1980s, she moved back to the UK.

In 1973, she married geologist Gerald McEwen. The couple divorced in 1981 but remarried in 1982.

She was awarded a CBE in 2006 and was made a dame in the 2014 Birthday Honours list for services to literature.

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