Bestselling author Hilary Mantel discusses the transformative power of adaptations in storytelling. She articulates how different mediums can breathe new life into historical narratives. Mantel emphasizes that adaptation is not a betrayal of the original work but an act of creative collaboration. With anecdotes about her own experiences, she explores the challenges and nuances of portraying historical figures, especially in theater. Her insights underscore the essential role of art in understanding our past, reminding us that without it, history may become a mere flicker.

Hilary Mantel, a best-selling author renowned for her novels about Thomas Cromwell, delivers a powerful lecture on Polish writer Stanislawa Przybyszewska. She examines Przybyszewska's obsessive relationship with history, which ultimately led to her isolation and early death. Mantel poses challenging questions about the sacrifices artists make for authenticity, the complexities of historical perception, and the importance of skepticism in today's 'post-truth' landscape. Her insights bridge past and present, illuminating the struggles of embodying history in literature.

Hilary Mantel, the acclaimed author known for her captivating novels about the Tudor court, dives deep into how we perceive history. She challenges us to think critically about the romanticized and often brutal representations of the past. Mantel warns against oversimplified comparisons like those between the English Reformation and Brexit and emphasizes the importance of revisiting untold stories, particularly of women. Throughout her lectures, she reflects on the complex interplay between history, memory, and fiction, urging us to respect the past's strangeness.