The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher

A collection of short stories by Mantel, ranging across ordinary life and the unsettling edges of it. The settings include suburban England, holidays abroad and the memories of childhood, and the tone moves between wry comedy and menace. Many stories examine uneasy relationships, class, faith and the small cruelties of daily life. The title story imagines an act of violence against a real political leader and is typical of Mantel's willingness to be provocative. The book shows her sharp eye and economical style at shorter length.