The Mirror & the Light

Plot

The Mirror & the Light covers the period following the death of Anne Boleyn in 1536. It describes Cromwell's ascent to the pinnacle of his riches and power, followed by his fall from royal favour and his public execution at Tower Hill in 1540.

Publication

Though Mantel had originally hoped to publish the book in 2018, it did not appear until March 2020. Mantel dismissed speculation that the novel had been delayed due to writer's block, distractions caused by stage and screen adaptations of her previous novels, or because she could not bring herself to write Cromwell's execution scene. Saying the project had simply been difficult, Mantel added, "But that’s not an explanation that has any news value, so people are looking for a dramatic story of the whole process breaking down."

When it was published with Fourth Estate in the UK on 5 March 2020, bookstores opened at midnight to sell the title. Initial UK sales were brisk, with over 95,000 copies sold in the first three days. Henry Holt and Company published the US edition five days later, on 10 March 2020.

Reception

The New York Times called it "the triumphant capstone to Mantel’s trilogy," the Financial Times called it "majestic and often breathtakingly poetic," and the Washington Post called it a "masterful finale." The Times Literary Supplement called it "some of the most complex and immersive fiction to have come along in years," while The Guardian hailed it as a "masterpiece" and called Mantel's Cromwell trilogy "the greatest English novels of this century." The Los Angeles Times called Mantel "unique among modern novelists in her ability to make the past as viscerally compelling as the present," USA Today said that "every page is rich with insight," and the Wall Street Journal called her Cromwell trilogy "a brilliant engagement with the exercise and metaphysics of power in 16th-century Europe." However, the New Yorker criticised its length (754 pages in the US edition), calling it "a bloated and only occasionally captivating work."

The Mirror & the Light was shortlisted for the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction.

Adaptations

Stage

Like the preceding volumes, The Mirror & the Light has been adapted for the stage, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company with a script written by Mantel and Ben Miles. The play opened at the Gielgud Theatre, London in September 2021.

Television

In November 2023, Masterpiece and the BBC announced the television adaptation of The Mirror & the Light. In December 2023, production confirmed that many of the principal actors from the previous TV adaptation of Wolf Hall would be reprising their roles, including Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as Henry VIII. Filming began in late 2023 and was completed in early 2024.

References

References

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2. Temple, Emily. (2020-12-15). "The Ultimate Best Books of 2020 List".
3. (17 June 2021). "Hilary Mantel wins 2021 Walter Scott Prize".
4. (3 April 2024). "BBC releases first-look pictures for Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light as filming wraps on the forthcoming series".
5. Alter, Alexandra. (2020-02-24). "For Hilary Mantel, There's No Time Like the Past". The New York Times.
6. (22 May 2019). "THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT".
7. Fisher, Luke. (2020-03-10). "The Mirror and the Light shines with huge first-week sales". The Guardian.
8. (22 May 2019). "Hilary Mantel's conclusion to Thomas Cromwell trilogy to be published in March".
9. Sehgal, Parul. (2020-03-03). "Hilary Mantel's Triumphant New Novel Brings Thomas Cromwell Across the Finish Line". The New York Times.
10. Schama, Simon. (28 February 2020). "Review {{!}} The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel — 'majestic and poetic'".
11. Smith, Wendy. "Review {{!}} 'The Mirror and the Light' is a masterful finale to Hilary Mantel's Cromwell trilogy". Washington Post.
12. "The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel book review - The TLS - Fiction".
13. Merritt, Stephanie. (2020-03-01). "The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel review – a shoo-in for the Booker prize". The Guardian.
14. (2020-03-10). "Review: Curtains for Cromwell, as Hilary Mantel's glorious trilogy concludes".
15. Cha, Steph. "'The Mirror & the Light' review: Hilary Mantel brings Cromwell trilogy to a brilliant end".
16. Powers, Katherine A.. (2020-03-10). "'The Mirror and the Light' Review: Thomas Cromwell's Final Act". Wall Street Journal.
17. Mendelsohn, Daniel. (4 March 2020). "Hubris and Delusion at the End of Hilary Mantel's Tudor Trilogy".
18. (2020-04-22). "Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist announced".
19. (20 May 2021). "RSC's Mirror and the Light receives West End premiere in autumn".
20. "MASTERPIECE Announces Wolf Hall The Mirror and the Light".
21. "Wolf Hall The Mirror and the Light Casting News".
22. (20 November 2023). "Wolf Hall The Mirror and the Light - everything we know What to Watch".