Hilary Mantel, author of acclaimed Tudor-era 'Wolf Hall' trilogy, dies at 70

[{"selector":"#anim-417fdfb8-c50d-49ca-abea-6dd651506ed8 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-31.246337776828504%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google Hilary Mantel, author of acclaimed Tudor-era 'Wolf Hall' trilogy, dies at 70

[{"selector":"#anim-e5ae1d5f-1c8e-47a5-aa15-abbf67c60e95 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-29.886363514314873%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google Historical trilogy "Wolf Hall" author Hilary Mantel, who won the Booker Prize, has passed away. She was 70.

[{"selector":"#anim-54ec9bff-34f2-48ca-b24e-dfef39808ee6 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-31.287802305809947%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google Mantel passed away "suddenly yet quietly" on Friday, HarperCollins, her publisher, said. She was accompanied by her loved ones.

[{"selector":"#anim-4e76b785-276d-4959-97a7-8a3c7b40ac00 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-31.27343738636794%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google With "Wolf Hall" and its two sequels on King Henry VIII's right-hand man, Thomas Cromwell, an English power broker in the 16th century, Mantel is recognised with revitalising historical fiction.

[{"selector":"#anim-822c81df-2738-4b57-a962-c66faa338173 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-28.97949205994837%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google Her death was "devastating," according to Mantel's longtime editor Nicholas Pearson.

[{"selector":"#anim-57cf1fea-0f9b-48ac-8198-2242a7c87f7b [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-34.16964276108486%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google Only a month prior, he sat with her in Devon on a lovely afternoon while she talked animatedly about the new novel she was working on.

[{"selector":"#anim-2445a85c-4832-4c0a-9ef3-74267c4c56ad [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-29.886363514314873%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google It's heartbreaking to think that we won't get to enjoy her words any more. What we do have is a body of work that future generations will read.

[{"selector":"#anim-56c20d76-2a96-477d-983b-dd6bd2f69657 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-31.287802305809947%, 0, 0)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] Credit by Google Mantel was referred to as "one of the greatest English authors of this century" by HarperCollins.