Hilary Mantel sparked controversy at The Daily Telegraph for her new book, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher and Other Stories. Photo: HarperCollins Jamie Portman
Postmedia News
LONDON — A scandalized London Daily Telegraph has backed out of a high-priced deal to publish award-winning author Hilary Mantel’s latest short story, The Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher.
The Telegraph reportedly paid tens of thousands of dollars to the two-time Booker winner for exclusive first-publication rights to the story, which is the title work in a new collection of Mantel short fiction being published this month. But a report in the rival
Guardian says the Telegraph’s weekend editor “went ballistic” last week when he finally read the story and immediately cancelled it on the grounds that it would upset the paper’s loyal conservative readership.
The Telegraph also killed an accompanying interview with the outspoken author, in which she acknowledged her “boiling detestation” for Thatcher and accused the former British prime minister of being anti-feminist and a “psychological transvestite” who believed that “women must imitate men to succeed.” Among other awards, Mantel has twice won the Man Booker fiction prize, for her novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.
The Guardian snapped up both the controversial story and Mantel’s inflammatory interview and published them on Saturday. Mantel’s new book will be published in Canada Sept. 27.
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