Books to read if you loved Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy

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 Wolf Hall , Bring Up The Bodies and The Mirror and The Light, her Booker-winning trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell, Hilary Mantel has answered those questions with an emphatic 'yes!'.

The BBC's sumptuous recent adaptation of the much loved trilogy, starring Mark Rylance in the role of Thomas Cromwell and Damian Lewis as Henry VIII, has brought new audiences to Mantel's compelling tale of intrigue in the Tudor court. If you've just finished the series and are suffering from Cromwell withdrawals, or you just want to know what to read next if you love Wolf Hall, here are eight books by other authors you may enjoy.