Talk:Hilary Mantel

Photo removal

A photo of Mantel (Image:HilaryMantel.jpg) was linked in by Wikiscient, but the image's declared fair-use rational (scan of newspaper) doesn't match the reality (good-resolution photo) so I've removed it from the article until that can be sorted out. Hopefully it's just a typo and wikipedia is allowed to use the photo. --VinceBowdren (talk) 17:15, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Well, it's low-res (~23K I think?) but, yeah, it would have to go anyway as per:

Note: If the image depicts a person or persons on the cover, it is not acceptable to use the image in the article of the person or persons depicted on the cover, unless used to directly illustrate a point about the publication of the image. Use of the image merely to depict a person or persons in the image will be removed.

I should have looked more carefully at the fair-use policy -- thanks for catching that, though! --Wikiscient 18:43, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Hilary Mantel is a Former Roman Catholic

Hilary Mantel was raised a Roman Catholic, but she totally lost her faith at 12 years old, according to this interview:[1]. I was even more scrupulous and I did a extent google search to see if she still calls herself a Catholic or about what are her current religious beliefs. I think she is still a spiritual person but doesn't follow any religion currently. I am removing her from the Roman Catholic categories where she appears then.Mistico (talk) 20:59, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

I quote directly from the article: "By the time she was 12 she had rejected religion, but it had already left another indelible mark, the "real cliche, the sense of guilt. You grow up believing that you're wrong and bad. And for me, because I took what I was told really seriously, it bred a very intense habit of introspection and self-examination and a terrible severity with myself. So that nothing was ever good enough. It's like installing a policeman, and one moreover who keeps changing the law.""Mistico (talk) 21:01, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

Overall Comments

1. Why is there a blurb about there not being enough inline citations? Is 41 an insufficient number for such a short article? Can we remove this? 2. Why is there no section about Mantel's writing style? It's very distinct and sets her apart from other writers. Surely enough people have commented on it that it could be cited. This article could be greatly enriched by a section that discusses her writing style. DanQuigley 17:34, 20 November 2014 (UTC)

First woman

You could argue that the dubious phrasing of the remark about her being the first woman followed by the words 'following in the footsteps of'... a whole series of men (making it sound as if they are women) speaks to the problematic nature of referring to this distinction. From a feminist point of view, it would be perhaps better to change it simply to the 'fourth person' to win the award. 95.172.64.57 (talk) 18:31, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

Controversy

Mantel's controversial comment about royalty was criticized by the Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband and Prime Minister David Cameron. It is fair enough to name them, but why name Jemima Khan and Hadley Freeman as defending her? These two are so obscure as to not justify a reference.101.98.163.177 (talk) 06:27, 14 April 2015 (UTC)