Dame Hilary, the first woman and Briton to win the Man Booker Prize for Fiction twice, will be visiting Aslockton to launch ‘The Cranmer Connection’ - a project that will see a permanent celebration of the village’s famous ancestor Thomas Cranmer ; the Archbishop of Canterbury who steered Henry VIII and England through The Reformation.
During ‘An Evening with Hilary Mantel’, the acclaimed author will be giving a talk on her life and works, as well as officially launching the village project. Having a special affection for Thomas Cranmer, Dame Hilary previously visited Aslockton whilst researching her novels ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up the Bodies,’ so was only too happy to support the village’s plans to commemorate his legacy. The Revd Bryony Wood, Vicar of The Cranmer Group, (which includes Aslockton) says: “We are absolutely thrilled Dame Hilary will be launching our project to celebrate and promote the life and achievements of Thomas Cranmer. Born inAslockton in 1489, he lived his early life here. His professional and spiritual influence was immense in his day - and his legacy still benefits the worldwide Church. We feel that his story needs to be better known and through The Cranmer Connection we hope to achieve this.” Cranmer was 'a local boy made good' – rising from the small Nottinghamshire village to the highest of heights in Tudor England before falling from grace when Queen Mary ordered him to be burnt at the stake in 1556. Cranmer fits into one of the great stories of English history and there is a current fascination with Tudor history in particular - influenced by the incredible success of Dame Hilary’s books. Bryony continues: “Her novels have brought the Tudor story to life, so who better to ask than Hilary to help us launch a celebration of the life and work of our greatest inhabitant! We are so grateful for her time and her support that is enabling us to hold this unique event. Hilary is currently writing ‘The Mirror and the Light’ - the sequel to ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up the Bodies’ – so if we are very lucky we may just be amongst the first to hear extracts from that too!” The ‘Evening with Hilary Mantel’ will be held in The Thomas Cranmer Centre in Aslockton on Friday 13th November at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £20 per person and can be purchased via The Cranmer Connection Facebook page: facebook.com/cranmerconnection, The Cranmer Arms, Main Street, Aslockton, and The Bookcase, 50 Main Street, Lowdham. |