With the sad news of the passing of Hilary Mantel, people began exchanging stories of their meetings with her. A picture quickly developed of someone who was kind, generous, and helpful, particularly to other writers. I briefly interacted with her over email (via her agent) to clarify something for my PhD (a minor footnote relating to a geeky, academic point concerning the line between fiction and non-fiction). She had no reason to even acknowledge my email let alone answer it and explain why she had made a certain decision. Given the way many men behave online, I’ve come to expect any well-meant unsolicited emails or messages I send to be met with suspicion and silence. This is sad, and makes being a journalist difficult sometimes, but understandable. However, she did answer, perhaps happy to receive a different question from the usual ones, or perhaps pleased that someone had spotted the minor tweak to
This is a lovely testimony to kindness and I'm glad you took the time to write and post. No matter how you or others may rate or rank your work or performance, being kind is a "great leveler"--we can all be kind, no matter how talented we may or may not be. People will always remember how you made them feel and, I would argue, in the end that's the most important thing.
This is a lovely testimony to kindness and I'm glad you took the time to write and post. No matter how you or others may rate or rank your work or performance, being kind is a "great leveler"--we can all be kind, no matter how talented we may or may not be. People will always remember how you made them feel and, I would argue, in the end that's the most important thing.