The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 4 books · 1992 to 2020 · Mostly set in London

Hilary Mantel

Historical fictionLiterary and generalMedieval and TudorLiterary fiction

Hilary Mantel won the Booker Prize twice for the first two parts of her Wolf Hall trilogy, which follows Thomas Cromwell, a blacksmith's son from Putney, as he rises to become Henry VIII's chief minister. Her earlier A Place of Greater Safety follows three men of the French Revolution.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The characters are real historical figures as portrayed in the novels.

Vote for Hilary Mantel as a favourite author, and for books and characters below. See the favourites

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
The chart needs JavaScript. The reading order and character list below work without it.

Hilary Mantel books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Wolf Hall

3 books · Set in LondonLiterary fictionMedieval and Tudor
  1. 1Wolf Hall2009With Thomas CromwellBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Bring Up the Bodies2012With Thomas CromwellBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Mirror and the Light2020With Thomas CromwellBuy on Amazon

Standalone

1 book · Set in ParisLiterary fiction
  1. 1A Place of Greater Safety1992With Camille Desmoulins and Georges DantonBuy on Amazon

Characters

10 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

The Tudor court

The French Revolution