The ugly face of abuse

Does loving the art mean we have to love the artist?

Hilary Mantel

Like many others who are huge fans of her novels, I was particularly disappointed and troubled by Dame Hilary Mantel’s sour comments about Britain.

This stellar novelist, who has twice won the Booker Prize, told the Italian newspaper La Republicca that she planned to move to Ireland and seek Irish citizenship because she was “ashamed” of the…