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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
7/31/2019 Waterstones Doncaster May Newsletter
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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
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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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