Books to read if you loved Hilary Mantel’s ‘The Mirror & The Light’

Writing historical fiction is a huge challenge of the imagination. How much can we truly understand those from the distant past? Did they think, feel and desire the way we do? Can their stories feel truly relevant to the present day?

With The Mirror and The Light, the third instalment of her double Booker-winning trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell, Hilary Mantel has ansered those question with an emphatic 'yes!', just as she did with Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies before that.

Released to rave reviews this month, the novel is very, very good indeed. If you've already read it and are already suffering from Thomas Cromwell withdrawals, here are eight books by other authors you may enjoy.