Wolf Hall author Dame Hilary Mantel has died at the age of 70

Author Dame Hilary Mantel, best known for the Wolf Hall trilogy, has died at the age of 70, HarperCollins announced.

The British author has twice won the Booker Prize, first for her 2009 novel Wolf Hall and again for the 2012 sequel Bring Up The Bodies.

Her publisher, HarperCollins, said in a statement that she died “suddenly but peacefully” surrounded by close family and friends on Thursday.

They added: “Hilary Mantel was one of the greatest English novelists of this century, and her beloved works are considered modern classics. She will be greatly missed.”

In a post on Twitter, they said it was a “devastating loss” and that they “could only be grateful that she left us such a magnificent body of work,” sending their thoughts to family and friends.

Bill Hamilton, Dame Hilary’s agent at literary agency AM Heath, said it was the “greatest privilege” to work with her.

He said: “Her wit, stylistic daring, creative ambition and phenomenal historical insight mark her as one of the greatest novelists of our time.

“She will be remembered for her tremendous generosity to other budding writers, her ability to electrify a live audience, and the tremendous breadth of her journalism and criticism, which produces some of the finest commentary on issues and books.

“Emails from Hilary were peppered with quips and jokes as she gleefully watched the world and indulged in the lazy or absurd and nailed-down atrocities and prejudices.

“There was always a slight aura of otherworldliness about her as she saw and felt things that we mere mortals missed, but when she saw the need for a confrontation she went into battle fearlessly.

“And all against the backdrop of chronic health issues that she has dealt with so stoically.

“We will miss her immensely, but she leaves an extraordinary legacy as a beacon for writers and readers alike. Our thoughts are with her beloved husband Gerald, family and friends.”

Dame Hilary concluded her Wolf Hall trilogy in 2020 with the critically acclaimed publication of The Mirror & The Light and won the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction, which she won for Wolf Hall for the first time.

The trilogy, which chronicles the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell in the court of King Henry VIII, has been translated into 41 languages ​​and has sold more than five million copies worldwide, according to HarperCollins.

It was later adapted for stage and screen, with the Royal Shakespeare Company staging productions of the first two books in 2013.

The BBC also adapted the story into a TV series, which first aired on BBC Two in 2015 with Mark Rylance as Cromwell.