The Final Wolf Hall Book Will Likely Be Delayed, Says Hilary Mantel

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy has been a huge success since the first book made its debut in 2009. Both it and its sequel, Bring up the Bodies, won the Man Booker prize and the third and final instalment is highly anticipated by readers. If you’re a fan of the series then we’ve got bad news, Hilary Mantel has stated it’s becoming “increasingly unlikely” that the final entry, entitled The Mirror and the Light, will be released in 2018 as she had hoped.

As The Guardian reports, at her Reith lecture for the BBC, Mantel was asked about The Mirror and the Light and stated: “It simply depends when it comes in … you know, publishing goes in seasons. If I can get it [finished] early in the new year, it might very well come out in later summer. But I have to say that this is looking increasingly unlikely.”

It seems the book may not hit shelves until 2019. When asked if the delay was caused by her reluctance to write about Cromwell’s execution, Mantel replied: “People ask me if I’m having trouble killing off Thomas Cromwell. No, why would I?” She went on to say that the delay has been caused by her wanting to deliver a final instalment that does not disappoint readers. “It is 10 years’ worth of effort and it is lovely to have the encouragement of people who are waiting for it, but that’s why I want to deliver them something that is the very best,” said Mantel.

The books have been adapted both as a television programme and as a stage play. It has been confirmed that the TV show will continue once the final book is released with actor Mark Rylance reprising his role as Cromwell. “As soon as [Cromwell is] dead, he will get up, put on his head again and charge on to the TV screen … and quite possibly there will be another stage play. So it’s simply a way-station on his road to triumph,” Mantel said.

Mantel’s trilogy has been both applauded and criticised for presenting a more alternative look at Cromwell from the historic figure we tend to think of him as. Speaking of this, Mantel said: “My tendency is to approach the received version with great scepticism and try to get the reader to challenge what they think they know,” she added, You’re always looking for the untold story, you’re looking for what has been repressed politically or repressed psychologically. You are working in the crypt.”