In this archive video, the author of Beyond Black explains how writing the book laid the groundwork for her Tudor novels – and how she might have ended up working as a professional psychic
Beyond Black
Written by Hilary Mantel
- Longlisted
- The Man Booker Prize 2005
- Published by 4th Estate
Buy the book
Hilary Mantel’s comically sinister tale of wicked spirits and suburban mediums is a masterpiece of dark humour - and even darker secrets
Alison Hart, a medium by trade, tours the dormitory towns of London’s orbital ring road with her flint-hearted sidekick, Colette, passing on messages from beloved dead ancestors. But behind her plump, smiling persona hides a desperate woman: she knows the terrors the next life holds but must conceal them from her wide-eyed clients. At the same time she is plagued by spirits from her own past, who infiltrate her body and home, becoming stronger and nastier the more she resists…
Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel was nominated for the Booker Prize four times, winning it twice
More about Hilary Mantel 
Other nominated books by Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the superb historical trilogy she began with Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies
This gripping sequel to Wolf Hall is the second volume of Hilary Mantel’s remarkable trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell
Hilary Mantel’s truly great novel peels back history to explore the rich intersection of individual psychology and wider politics in Tudor England
Features
- Long read
- First person
'Suddenly she was into her stride': Nicholas Pearson on publishing Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall
- Book recommendations
Book of the Month: Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
- Book extract
An extract from Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
- Book recommendations
- Long read
How Beyond Black shone a light on Hilary Mantel's most personal preoccupations
- Reading guides
Reading guide: Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
- Interview