A Memoir of My Former Self
A Life in Writing
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A Memoir of My Former Self
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By:
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Hilary Mantel
About this listen
A Memoir of My Former Self reveals the shape of Hilary Mantel's life in her own dazzling words, narrated by a prestigious cast of actors and notable literary figures connected to Hilary's work.
From her unique childhood to her all-consuming fascination with Thomas Cromwell that grew into the Wolf Hall Trilogy, Hilary Mantel had a celebrated career as a novelist. Alongside this, she long contributed to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories from her own life and illuminating the world as she found it. This strand of Hilary's writing was an integral part of how she thought of herself. 'Ink is a generative fluid,' she explains. 'If you don't mean your words to breed consequences, don't write at all.' A Memoir of My Former Self collects the finest of this writing over four decades.
Mantel's subjects are wide-ranging. She discusses nationalism and her own sense of belonging; our dream life flopping into our conscious life; the mythic legacy of Princess Diana; the many themes that feed into her novels—revolutionary France, psychics, Tudor England—and other novelists, from Jane Austen to V. S. Naipaul. She writes about her father and the man who replaced him; she writes fiercely and heartbreakingly about the battles with her health she endured as a young woman, and the stifling years she found herself living in Saudi Arabia. Here, too, is a selection of her film reviews—from When Harry Met Sally to RoboCop—and, published for the first time, her stunning Reith Lectures, which explore the process of art bringing history and the dead back to life.
Compelling, often very funny, always luminous, it is essential listening from one of our greatest writers.
Voiced by Ben Miles, Lydia Leonard and Aurora Dawson-Hunte; all of whom have featured in stage adaptions of Hilary's work. With contributions from actress Jane Wymark, narrator of Hilary's memoir Giving up the Ghost. Readings from authors Anne Enright; the first Laureate for Irish Fiction and winner of the 2007 Booker Prize, and Sarah Waters; British Book Award Author of the Year and two-time Booker Prize nominee. Joining the cast are Hilary's long-time literary agent Bill Hamilton and her publisher for nearly twenty years, Nicholas Pearson.
'A smart, deft, meticulous, thoughtful writer, with such a grasp of the dark and spidery corners of human nature'—Margaret Atwood
©2023 Hilary Mantel (P)2023 W. F. Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about A Memoir of My Former Self
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- lilybabe
- 17-07-24
A Phenomenal Author
There is so much in this book - within each chapter you can hear the passion with which Hilary Mantel spoke. To have listened to Hilary Mantel herself talking in the Reith lectures must have been mesmerising because the narrators do an impressive job too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- G. B
- 01-07-24
Lovely collection, mostly well-read
I am in awe of Mantel's writing, having discovered her via the Wolf Hall series and branched out from there. This is a collection of various writings such as reviews, commentaries etc. Some of the subjects were not interesting to me (although most were), but even those were good listens thanks to the quality of the writing.
The only thing I'd say is that I'm not a fan of is this trend of audiobook producers thinking that just anyone can read. Just because you can write a book, it doesn't mean you should read it. Most of the reading was great, but I found a couple of the readers (e.g. Sarah Waters) to be off-putting with how they rushed through the writing, missing obvious points of emphasis. It was jarring to hear, after some excellent performances by the others (ie the people actually trained in acting or reading aloud).
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tony R.
- 09-07-24
Thanks Hilary for your words. You are sorely missed I’m
Will be listening again and again
Loved the film reviews and behind the scenes of Wolf Hall as well as insights and reflections on Di
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 23-01-24
Just beautiful
I feel bereft. I don’t know what I’m going to do now it’s over. Start it over again I think.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Serena Spencer-Jones
- 26-06-24
The WORDS oh my goodness what a genius!
Loved every syllable and want to re-listen already. Such an incredible woman. I’m in awe of her stoicism.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rachel Redford
- 02-12-23
A great selection of a great writer's talent
Edited by her publisher and read by eight narrators including Anne Enright and Sarah Waters, these 15 hours illustrate Hilary Mantel’s astonishing talent. Arranged in sections, the wide coverage includes her five Reith Lectures on the art of writing, and her sparkling , in-depth reviews of books and films . What a great pleasure it is to be reminded of them! Other pieces range over topics varying from her fraught years in Saudi Arabia and the career of Marie Antoinette, to perfume ad cricket.
I love her far-ranging references , always invigorating , idiosyncratic and often darkly witty. Who else would – or could - make a startling and thought-provoking analogy between the symbolism off Princess Diana‘s costumes and those of Marie Antoinette?
Her book reviews are not just about the writing, but they also create the writers as complete people. Rebecca West, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Jane Howard, even W.E.Johns, whose Biggles books she so loved as a child , are all fresh and real. In her liberal choice of Irish fiction writers – John McGahan in particular – she explores her palpable connection with Ireland and its history,. Her Irish grandmother , an illiterate mother of ten, is a story of its own.
Another piece describes how she first engaged with Wolf Hall , and elsewhere in relation to her great Tudor oeuvre, she explores the ‘neutrality of the historian versus the partisan nature of the novelist’. Amongst her historical essays, the succinct account of Anne Boleyn’s tragic life stands out. I can’t forget the detail of Henry selecting an executioner especially renowned for his sharp blade .
Mantel’s writing on her personal life sampled here is extremely moving. As she charts the endometriosis which caused her infertility and blighted her adult life. Her piece is called quite simply ‘Every part of my body hurts’. The ghost-baby is heart-breaking.
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4 people found this helpful