Reading guide: Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Explore HIlary Mantel’s 2005 longlisted novel Beyond Black through our comprehensive guide, which includes questions and discussion points
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: two-time winner of the Booker Prize
About the Author
Hilary Mantel was nominated for the Booker Prize four times, winning it twice. Her first win was for Wolf Hall in 2009 and her second win was for Bring Up the Bodies in 2012.
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.
