A review by hay_jude
A Memoir of My Former Self by Hilary Mantel

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This is a collection of Hilary Mantel's journalistic writing over the years and includes articles written for the London Review of Books, film reviews, her 2017 Reith Lectures on writing historical fiction and other pieces. As ever with Mantel her pieces are always intelligent, often funny and usually wise.I read this having read a poorly written bestseller of my book group and her sparkling prose was like balm to the soul following that reading experience.Having read her novels from the start of her writing career onwards I was able to meet her in person briefly, when I went to see the RSC dramatisation of her first two Cromwell novels at the theatre. I thanked her for all the reading pleasure she had given me and was able to say how glad I was that she had finally hit the big time in terms of recognition and success - and she gave me a big hug! How sad that she died before her time.