Books

Signed extra limited issue, number 50 of 100 copies signed and numbered by the author on the title page and bound in red quarter morocco. This title launched the author's acclaimed historical fiction trilogy on the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII. It came first place in the Guardian's 2019 list of the best books of the century so far. The work not only established her reputation but also rehabilitated that of its historical protagonist Thomas Cromwell, "by presenting him as a brilliant and revolutionary strategist... Enraptured critics said [Mantel] had presented the historical novel as high literature, portraying her subjects not as cardboard characters from centuries past but as real people of contradictions and psychological complexity, relatable in any age" (Marshall & Alter). A further 1,000 signed copies were issued in black quarter cloth. This limited issue of the 11th impression sheets was released in celebration of the novel winning the Man Booker prize. The work was first printed earlier the same year. Octavo. Original red quarter morocco, spine lettered in gilt and ruled in gilt and blind, red cloth sides, spine and front cover stamped with gilt Tudor rose, black endpapers and silk bookmarker. Housed in the original red cloth slipcase. Couple of small faint marks to slipcase; a fine copy in near-fine slipcase. Alex Marshall & Alexandra Alter, "Hilary Mantel, Prize-Winning Author of Historical Fiction, Dies at 70", New York Times, 23 Sept. 2022; "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century", The Guardian, 21 Sept. 2019.

Winner of the Man Booker Prize, 'Wolf Hall' explores the complex personality of Thomas Cromwell and his rise to power in the court of Henry VIII.