He knows different now. It's the living that chase the dead. The long bones and skulls are tumbled from their shrouds, and words like stones thrust into their rattling mouths: we edit their writings, we rewrite their lives. Thomas More had spread the rumor that Little Bilney, chained to the stake, had recanted as the fire was set. It wasn't enough for him to take Bilney's life away; he had to take his death too.

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About Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall.

Themes

  • Death — Contemplations on mortality, loss, and the legacy we leave
  • History — Lessons from the past and the arc of human civilisation

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