Budleigh Lit Fest heroine dies

Dame Hilary Mantel was 70

Legendary author Dame Hilary Mantel, who lived in Budleigh Salterton for many years until recently, has died at the age of 70.

Dame Hilary was most famous for the last period of her life for a series of novels called the 'Wolf Hall' trilogy, featuring Henry VIII's courtier Thomas Cromwell.

She moved to Ireland only last year, before doing so auctioning the desk on which she had written much of the series, to raise funds for the Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, of which she was president.

She packed out St Peter's Church in the town in 2020, not long after the last part of the trilogy, called 'The Mirror and the Light' was published.

The Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival 2022 was held last weekend, just days before her death.

A statement on behalf of the festival said: "Hilary had been a supportive and involved president of the Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival for many years and was always interested in our programme and supportive of our plans.

"She was committed to the extent that she had intended to remain as president despite her plans to move to Ireland.

"We will miss her beyond measure. The world has lost a hugely talented writer, and a warm, generous-hearted woman. Budleigh Salterton has lost a friend. Our hearts go out to her husband Gerald at this very sad time."

Dame Hilary won the Booker Prize twice - for Wolf Hall, and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies - the conclusion to the trilogy.

It was an instant number one fiction best-seller and longlisted for Booker Prize the same year, winning the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, which she first won for Wolf Hall.

Her publisher Fourth Estate books said: "We are heartbroken at the death 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 she left us with such a magnificent body of work."

Publishers HarperCollins described Dame Hilary as "one of the greatest English novelists of this century".

"Her beloved works are considered modern classics. She will be greatly missed."