# Learning to Talk: Stories - Hardcover

by **Hilary Mantel** (Author)

**A dazzling collection of short stories from the two-time winner of the Booker Prize and #1 _New York Times_ bestselling author of the Wolf Hall trilogy.**

In the wake of Hilary Mantel's brilliant conclusion to her award-winning Wolf Hall trilogy, _Learning to Talk_ is a collection of loosely autobiographical stories that locates the transforming moments of a haunted childhood.

Absorbing and evocative, these drawn-from-life stories begin in the 1950s in an insular northern village "scoured by bitter winds and rough gossip tongues." For the young narrator, the only way to survive is to get up, get on, get out. In "King Billy Is a Gentleman," the child must come to terms with the loss of a father and the puzzle of a fading Irish heritage. "Curved Is the Line of Beauty**"** is a story of friendship, faith and a near-disaster in a scrap-yard. The title story sees our narrator ironing out her northern vowels with the help of an ex-actress with one lung and a Manchester accent. In "Third Floor Rising, **"** she watches, amazed, as her mother carves out a stylish new identity.

With a deceptively light touch, Mantel illuminates the poignant experiences of childhood that leave each of us forever changed.

**"A book of her short stories is like a little sweet treat...Mantel's narrators never tell everything they know, and that's why they're worth listening to, carefully." --_USA Today_**

**"Her short stories always recognize other potential realities...Even the most straightforward of Mantel's tales retain a faintly otherworldly air." --_The Washington Post_**

### Author Biography

**Hilary Mantel** twice won the Booker Prize, for her best-selling novel _Wolf Hall_ and its sequel, _Bring Up the Bodies_. The final novel of the Wolf Hall trilogy, _The Mirror & the Light_, debuted at #1 on the _New York Times_ bestseller list and won critical acclaim around the globe. Mantel authored over a dozen books, including _A Place of Greater Safety_, _Beyond Black,_ and the memoir _Giving Up the Ghost_

**Number of Pages:** 176

**Dimensions:** 0.87 x 8.35 x 5.51 IN

**Publication Date:** June 21, 2022

## Details

- **Price:** 19.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 19.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Learning to Talk: Stories - Hardcover

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