A MEMOIR OF MY FORMER SELF A Life in Writing

This collection of 70 of Mantel's writings is divided into five parts, each with a reflective, animating quality. Lydia Leonard narrates the first part, her tone intimate and conversational whether she's describing Mantel's theft of a book in her youth, her life in Saudi Arabia, the grace of Marie Antoinette, or Princess Diana's complicated image. Jane Wymark delivers the fourth part, five lectures that show Mantel's passion for and understanding of writing. Six more actors and writers deliver the breadth and depth of brisk and witty movie reviews, along with in-depth essays about Jane Austen, Annie Proulx, and others. Multiple narrators finish with 20 more thought-provoking pieces. Throughout, short sentences give pause, descriptions invite, and all make listeners appreciate and miss the genius of the late Mantel. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2023]