Bestselling author Dame Hilary Mantel has passed away at the age of 70.
The award-winning Wolf Hall writer died "suddenly yet peacefully" while surrounded by close family and friends, HarperCollins has announced.
Paying tribute, the publishers described Hilary as "one of the greatest English novelists of this century". They added: "Her beloved works are considered modern classics. She will be greatly missed."
Posting on Twitter, HarperCollins wrote: "We are heartbroken at the death of our beloved author, Dame Hilary Mantel, and our thoughts are with her friends and family, especially her husband, Gerald.
"This is a devastating loss and we can only be grateful she left us with such a magnificent body of work."
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also shared a tribute to the "brilliant" author.
She tweeted: "It is impossible to overstate the significance of the literary legacy Hilary Mantel leaves behind. Her brilliant Wolf Hall trilogy was the crowning achievement in an outstanding body of work. Rest in peace."
Journalist Caitlin Moran said Hilary's mind was "one of the most powerful and magic machines" as she said we have lost an incredible author.
She wrote: "Hilary Mantel's mind was one of the most powerful and magic machines on Earth.
"We were lucky she wrote as much as she did, but holy hell, it's devastating that we've collectively lost something so astonishing.
J.K. Rowling added: "We've lost a genius."
TV personality Robert Rinder tweeted: "'Hope takes you by the throat like a stranger, it makes your heart leap’... Hilary Mantel… a writer of enduring gifts. RIP."
Hilary was regarded as one of the greatest English novelists, winning the Man Booker Prize twice for her novel Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies, which also won the 2012 Costa Book of the Year.
She was the first woman to receive the Man Booker Prize twice, following in the footsteps of JM Coetzee, Peter Carey and JG Farrell.
The conclusion to the Wolf Hall series, The Mirror & the Light, was published in 2020 and received huge critical acclaim, becoming an instant number one best-seller.
The trilogy has been translated into 41 languages, with more than five million copies being sold worldwide.
Hilary had published a new photography book, The Wolf Hall Picture Book, just this month. It was created with the help of actor Ben Miles and his brother George who is a photographer.
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