Waterstones Doncaster May Newsletter

7/31/2019 Waterstones Doncaster May Newsletter

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Bring upthe Bodies!Check out our Book of the Month: Bring up the

Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Available in store now.

The sequel to the ManBooker-winning WolfHall. 'My boy Thomas,give him a dirty lookand he'll gouge youreye out. Trip him, and

he'll cut off your leg,'says Walter Cromwell

in the year 1500.But if you don't cutacross him he's a verygentleman. And he'llstand anyone a drink.'

By 1535 ThomasCromwell, theblacksmith's son, is far

from his humble origins. Chief Minister to Henry VIII,his fortunes have risen with those of Anne Boleyn,Henry's second wife, for whose sake Henry hasbroken with Rome and created his own church. But

Henry's actions have forced England into dangerousisolation, and Anne has failed to do what shepromised: bear a son to secure

Waterstones DoncasterStore Newsletter | Issue #2 | May 2012 | Free

WHATS ON

Friday 18th12pm - 1pm

Local author Andy

Seed will be in store

signing copies of

the Yorkshire Book

of the MonthAll

Teachers Great and

Small.

Saturday 19th

11am onwards

Nick Quantrill will

be joining us to sign

copies ofBrokenDreams and The

Late Greats. Two

gripping crime

thrillers!

Saturday 26th

From 11amStephen E. Holmes

here to talk about

his book To Infinity

and Beyond. A

journey through

Latin America -

brilliant for fans ofadventure and

travel writing! Continued on page 2


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NEW BOOKSHere some of your local booksellers highlight their picks of new releases!

the Tudor line. When Henry visits Wolf Hall, Cromwell watches as Henryfalls in love with the silent, plain Jane Seymour. The minister sees what isat stake: not just the king's pleasure, but the safety of the nation. As he

eases a way through the sexual politics of the court, its miasma of gossip,he must negotiate a 'truth' that will satisfy Henry and secure his owncareer. But neither minister nor king will emerge undamaged from thebloody theatre of Anne's final days. In 'Bring up the Bodies', sequel to theMan Booker Prize-winning 'Wolf Hall', Hilary Mantel explores one of themost mystifying and frightening episodes in English history: the

destruction of Anne Boleyn.

Check out the interview with Hilary Mantel on page 4!

(Continued from page 1)

Managers Choice - Heftby Liz Moore - Published 5th May

Of all the new Fiction I've had land on my desk this

year; Heftis one of the most interesting. Ageing,

housebound former-academic Arthur Opp lives alone

on the ground floor of his house, unable to any

longer climb the stairs. His only contact with the

outside world is his letters to Charlene, a woman he

hasn't seen for more than 15 years. Across town

Charlene's son, Kel, tries to keep his home, his

mother and the secrets of their life separate from his

life at school as normality crumbles. Charlene's place

in both their lives is a catalyst: for extraordinary loss,

friendship, betrayal and most of all, change. This is

both a coming-of-age novel and a journey towards

self- acceptance, reminding us that the future is full

of unpredictability and wonder. This is new writing atits best and definitely one to watch out for in May. Out now!


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NEW BOOKSLets Pretend This Never Happenedby Jenny

Lawson and The Night Circus by Erin MorgensternIf you enjoyed the intelligent, witty and pithy observations

of Caitlin Moran in her bestselling How To Be A Woman,then it is safe to say that you'll be equally amused, if not

more so, by Let's Pretend This Never Happened, which has a

feel of being its long lost American cousin. It is a 'mostly

true' memoir that is sure to have you snorting

embarrassingly on the bus or quoting aloud to your friends!

Finally available in paperback, The Night Circus was by far

and away my favourite book of 2011. Opening at midnight and closing at dawn, the mysterious

and magical travelling circus, Le Cirque De Reves (the circus of dreams) had me completely

swept away. Fantastically descriptive, with two gradually converging timelines and a cast ofunforgettable characters (none more incredible than the circus itself), I found myself dreaming

of tents filled with ice and cloud, and others with fluttering paper birds, and being immersed in

caramel popcorn smells and chill night air. I'll admit that this book made me a true Reveur. Run

away to the circus with me and let me know what you think!

Out now! Out 24/5/12

The Dambusters by James HollandWe all know the story of the Dambusters; Guy Gibson, Barnes Wallis,

Lancaster bombers derring-do and stiff upper lips. Or do we? In his new

book, one of Britains finest young historians gives a dramatic retelling ofone of the most daring, extraordinary and outrageous raids of World War

2; a raid which went from the drawing board to completion in the space

of only 10 weeks. A tie-in to a new documentary on the BBC, this is a

fantastic, informative read.

On The Eve by Bernard Wasserstein and Banksyby Will

Ellsworth-JonesTwo books are worth an honourable mention this month from a couple

of my genres of interest. Firstly, Wassersteins On The Eve is a movingaccount which chronicles and celebrates the myriad aspects of a once-thriving European

Jewish culture, whilst demonstrating how its erosion was in inception long before the

emergence of Nazi persecution. (Note, this is a book on

European Semite culture, not a book on the Holocaust or

Nazism).

Secondly, is the biography of the British graffiti artist,

Banksy. Ellsworth-Jones has undertaken the unenviable task

of chronicling the life of a pseudonymous contemporary

figure, but what gives the book its strength is the authorsstrenuous efforts to interview Banksys peers and rivals and

his discussion of the broader subject of the street art scene

together with its own unique rhetoric.Out now!

Out now!


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'If I weren't a writer, I would be a nuisance'- Hilary Mantel talks about her new Cromwell novel and her career as a writer

Firstly Hilary, would you be able to tell us a bit about the story of Bring Up the Bodies?

It centres on the fall and execution of Anne Boleyn, and the part played in it by ThomasCromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII. The action covers nine months, and the first chapter finds

the king and a party of courtiers visiting Wolf Hall, in Wiltshire, the home of the Seymour family.

Henry already knows Jane Seymour, a plain, enigmatic young woman, but it's on this visit that

Cromwell notices that he is becoming interested in her, and suspects that Anne's days may be

over.

But at the end of summer, Anne is pregnant, and maybe she's carrying Henry's longed-for son?

Political and personal advantage swings about, each day brings its shocks, and by the spring of

1536, Henry decides he needs a new wife and Cromwell decides he needs regime change.

In Bring Up The Bodies, does the reader have access to the thoughts of Thomas Cromwell, as is

the case with Wolf Hall?

Yes. The story of Anne Boleyn's fall has been told often but never from this viewpoint. That's

what makes the book different.

Much of what has previously been written about Cromwell has portrayed him in a negative

manner. Was there a particular reason why you offered a much more sympathetic, and more

rounded, portrayal of him?

I don't think he has been well-served by writers of popular history, drama or fiction. They havebeen too ready to accept

the prejudices of previous

generations, and pass on

received opinions to their

readers. When I first

thought about writing Wolf

Hall, these received opinions

were all I had to go on. But

when I read about Cromwellin more academic texts, and

consulted sources closer to

the time, I began to revise

my view. I wanted to try to

separate the man from his

reputation.

How much of your characterisation of Cromwell was instinctively written or did you base his

personality on contemporaneous records and research?Cromwell was of humble background and his early life is obscure; but from hints we have about

it, it was unusual and enterprising. Once he becomes a minister, his public life is very well

documented but his private life remains well-hidden. This is where the novelist's work begins; the

task is to recreate or re-imagine, using as foundation the best evidence you can get. Often, you

J.K. Rowlings

new book!

The Casual Vacancy27/09/12

Guarantee your HALF PRICE

copy now with a 3 deposit!

RRP: 20 Pre-order price: 10


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CHARLIE HIGSON!

On Monday 23rd April, children from local schools had the chance to meet popular

comedian, author and actor Charlie Higson at Doncaster Racecourse. Charlie talked to the

children about his experience of writing and how much fun he had writing both his Young

Bond and The Enemy series. We were lucky enough to be invited along by the Doncaster

Book Award Organisers to sell Charlies books and got to meet the man himself!

Check out more pictures on our Facebook Page: facebook.com/WaterstonesDoncaster

learn a lot about Cromwell from the observations of other people; his own writing is seldom

revealing. He had a guarded, official persona. My challenge is to try to find the private man.

When writing Bring Up the Bodies, what were your feelings towards the character of Anne

Boleyn? Did your opinion of her change at all whilst you were developing her character?

It's not really up to me to have an opinion of her. It's my job to imagine Cromwell's opinion. That

certainly does evolve, right up to their last meeting.

What do you think the differences and challenges are between writing a non-fiction historicalbiography and historical (biographical) fiction?

I wouldn't describe my Cromwell novels as biographical fiction; that to me suggests a drier, more

documentary approach than I have adopted. I'm happy just to call them novels about a man

who happens to be dead. I think a novelist begins to operate fully just at the point where the

wise biographer stops. Of course, biographers do speculate on their subject's private thoughts,

but by the nature of their trade novelists are free to do so, and indeed it's the essence of what

they do.

What would you be if you weren't a writer?A nuisance.

And lastly, what are you working after Bring Up the Bodies?

The Mirror & The Light, the third and final part of Thomas Cromwell's story.


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Waterstones Doncaster May Newsletter