As a portrait of the claustrophobic life of a women’s hall of residence — where the poor rub shoulders with the rich, where everyone knows everyone else’s business, and where a good meal is hard to find — this is an extraordinarily vivid novel. The narrative is split across three timeframes, between which Carmel’s narration flits: her time in university halls, and her past both in her state school and, later, the Catholic convent (for which it’s thought Mantel drew on Harrytown Convent School where she studied), which propels her on to university, having prepared her to compete, as a pseudo-man, in the world of men. Across each of the narratives, minute social mores press in on the girls, forcing them to compete with one another in an unspoken game where victories are generally small and competition is attritional. Away from their mothers - their instructive feminine influences - for the first time, the girls navigate their way through this world of issues - from boyfriends to religion, fashion to food - alone. The mother-daughter relationship is important here, and Carmel’s own mother has shaped her daughter’s childhood, urging her towards success with tough homework schedules and unforgiving moral standards, driving her forward into the world. Hilary Mantel is photographed for the New York Times on February 24, 2020 in Sunningdale, England. (Photo by Ellie Smith/Contour)". Getty Images. 24 February 2020 . Retrieved 11 October 2022. Not your usual happy end, all the characters are marked by their complex and ultimately unsatisfactory relationships with each other. She dislikes it being said that she "escaped" into books. "When you read a novel or a play, it enlarges your own psychological repertoire. You see more choices that can be made. So it seems to me that by reading when you're young, you sophisticate yourself."

Holland, Paul W. (December 1986). “Statistics and Causal Inference”. Journal of the American Statistical Association.81(396): 945–960.doi: 10.2307/2289064

Mantel, Hilary (20 June 2017). "The Iron Maiden". Reith Lectures. BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 11 October 2022. The time is 1970, and it is wonderfully well evoked … The skill with which Mantel manages her time-shifts, the precision of her writing, the acuteness of her observations, the seriousness of her themes, and the way in which she weaves them into a coherant whole, make this an unusually satisfying novel.” - Allan Massie, Scotsman Writer Hilary Mantel is photographed for the Financial Times in London, England. (Photo by A.J.Levy/Contour)". Getty Images. 17 October 2012 . Retrieved 11 October 2022.

When men decided that women could be educated - this is what I think - they educated them on the male plan; they put them into schools with mottoes and school songs and muddy team games, they made them wear collars and ties. It was a way to concede the right to learning, yet remain safe; the products of the system would always be inferior to the original model. Women were forced to imitate men, and bound not to succeed at it. That, in fact, is precisely how Dr. King himself entered jail five years later. To those skeptical of the value of turning the other cheek, he offers: Hilary Mantel reveals plans for Wolf Hall trilogy". BBC News. 18 November 2011 . Retrieved 13 May 2012.Blair, Elizabeth (16 October 2012). "Hilary Mantel First Woman To Win Booker Prize Twice". NPR.org. LSE Hilary Mantel obituary". London School of Economics. 23 September 2022 . Retrieved 28 September 2022.

Mantel discussed her religious views in her 2003 memoir, Giving Up the Ghost. Brought up as a Roman Catholic, she ceased to believe at age 12, but said the religion left a permanent mark on her:Selwyn, Matthew (20 March 2014). "Review: An Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel". bibliofreak.net.