Hilary Mantel's Thatcher Story

[sp1814]

What are your thoughts on this?

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/22/hilary-mantel-critics-thatcher-assassination-short-story

I will open by saying that I personally found many (but by no means *all*) of Thatcher's views/policies odious, but my personal antipathy for her would never stretch to imagining her assassination, let alone putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to write such a story.

Admission: I have not read the story, only the reports of it.

Do you think this is a valid piece of fiction about a historical figure, or a nasty piece of 'gloatware'?

[sandyRoe]

Didn't Frederick Forsyth make a considerable fortune imagining an assassin after De Gaulle?
It's only fiction.

[Farriercm]

Where can I buy this book,It should have been Called, A dream came true.

[naomi24]

I haven't read it, but it strikes me that people are making a fuss over nothing. It's a piece of fiction.

[Tilly2]

I read it in the Guardian review section on Saturday. It is an excellent short story. Is there a fuss about it?

[Peter Pedant]

who was the author who gave critics' names to all his murder victims - until one sued ?

Sir Cyril Black I thought was portrayed as a James Bond villain and sued ( no sense of humour apparently ) but in fact he sued over a work of fiction and pornography... He (CB) was the leading man in a work of absolute filth https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15667750W/Sir_Cyril_Black

not to be confused with Conrad Black fraudster who did time.

Winston Churchill was mendaciously portrayed by Ralk HochHuth in a play about sacrificing Sikorski. Sikorski was not of course sacrificed - his aeroplane fell out of the air

[ Sorry for those who cant follow parallels - all of the above are other example of fiction and historical figures ]

[douglas9401]

I think it would only be tasteless if her earthly remains were disinterred to be machine gunned by people dressed as miners and steel workers

[agchristie]

SandyRoe is correct,The Day Of The Jackal published in the early 70's is a great novel is a case in point.

I've not read Mantel's short work but would emotions be quite so aroused if Thatcher had been deceased less recently?

[tonyav]

I thought that the IRA did try to assassinate her, Brighton 1984.

[Peter Pedant]

The comedy house did a spoof of the miners strike,

Dawn French as Meryl Streep as Mrs Scargill, with Arthur similarly portrayed
and I do not recoollect a squeak of protest - not even from Mrs S

[tamborine]

Mantal should read Mental! Some women cannot come to terms with own sex high flyers.

[jno]

good story, rather like a comic version of Day of the Jackal. Imagining things is what novelists do (and although Mantel is now thought of as a historian as well as novelist, she was a novelist first).

[ToraToraTora]

just more fuel for the TGL vitriol addicts. Still a target after death and 24 years since in power, how effective she must have been to still be a target for this hatred. She must have terrified the anti British left, those that could not stand the fact she stopped their plans and exposed their flawed idiology. Just the sort of BS the brainwashed feed on. Enjoy sheep enjoy.

[jno]

the woman who freed the banks to bring us the economic paradise we live in today... gave people the right to buy council homes cheap but didn't require them to be replaced, bringing us the calm and rational property market that makes homeowning so simple for the young... what an effective leader!

[mikey4444]

Any short story with that name in it would put me off I'm afraid. I have even stopped buying her cider.

[mikey4444]

I forgot to add...I hope the story was written a little clearer than her two Cromwell books, which I thought were frankly unreadable. The woman needs
a good Editor as far as I am concerned.

[Quizmonster]

Each to his own, obviously, but in my view both Mantel's Cromwell books were superb as well as major literary prize-winners. The fact that she has a visceral hatred of Thatcher, even now, is hardly unique, so 'yes', it is a perfectly valid piece of fiction.

[jno]

prize winners and best sellers too, QM. mikey is welcome to suppose all the rest of the regiment is out of step; but he doesn't appear to be in the majority on this one.

[Obiter]

Never thought I'd agree with Mikey but I do here. I am a historian of sorts and love historical fiction, but Wolf Hall was the moost turgid piece of prose I have ever read. I have not read her second book about Cromwell, nor do I intend to. Most of it was fantasy. If you like historical fiction then you cannot beat Jean Plaidy. Now she did her research.

[Old_Geezer]

I freely admit to having not read the story, just seen reports of the fuss over it, but I have to agree with many here that it is fiction. It is about an imagined assassination of someone who is now history. I can see why some might conclude it is a continuation of the distaste for what the main character actually inflicted on the country while she was here, but without further evidence I consider it likely to be an indication of how those who believe that is the case, think, rather than a genuine condemnation of the author. Thinking the worst of folk rather than giving them the benefit of any doubt ?

[ludwig]

It seems alot of fuss over nothing. Thatcher is either hated as the most evil person in history, or revered as some sort of god.

Mantel obviously falls into the haters camp, but so what, she can write what she likes. It's no cause for any of the Thatcher worshippers to get annoyed about - especially as that's partly what she's trying to do.