Vacant Possession

Vacant Possession
Hilary Mantel

From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up the Bodies’, a savagely funny tale that revisits the characters from the much-loved ‘Every Day is Mother’s Day’.Muriel Axon is about to re-enter the lives of Colin Sidney, hapless husband, father and schoolmaster, and Isabel Field, failed social worker and practising neurotic.It is ten years since her last tangle with them, but for Muriel this is not time enough. There are still scores to be settled, truths to be faced and rather a lot of vengeance to be wreaked.

HILARY MANTEL

Vacant Possession

Copyright (#ulink_d8764f19-2134-59db-8ad0-c32afe38861c)

Harper Perennial

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 77–85 Fulham Palace Road Hammersmith London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published by Chatto & Windus Ltd 1986

Copyright © Hilary Mantel 1986

PS Section copyright © Louise Tucker 2006

except ‘Having a Home to Go to’ by Hilary Mantel © Hilary Mantel 2006

PS™ is a trademark of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

Hilary Mantel asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9781841153407

Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2010 ISBN: 9780007354870

Version: 2014-12-08

Dedication (#ulink_8819dc3f-7de0-557f-b3d3-9e6e0463dc61)

To Gerald

Epigraph (#ulink_6fc4b2bf-5cb7-58dc-8e4d-13476ddc36e3)

‘… and that is what one does, one does not get better but different and older and that is always a pleasure.’

GERTRUDE STEIN

EZEKIEL 37:3

‘Can these bones live?’

Contents

Cover (#udc1df962-30fa-59fc-9b94-508f2d0bebf2)

Title Page (#u356b1699-cb0b-5ae5-b5cd-3b97363b1748)

Copyright (#u893a7ce3-8294-5f1f-99a7-6ff07a959103)

Dedication (#u16c92077-1611-51bb-8d68-84ded397c3a9)

Epigraph (#u672da442-d788-5160-841d-64efb76fe556)

Preface (#u7c31adae-018d-5e42-8620-38b09446114d)

CHAPTER 1 (#u762f13dc-a1e8-564d-83c5-e2017af9113b)

CHAPTER 2 (#ube493d8d-7a3a-54f5-8de6-a30f39602e77)

CHAPTER 3 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 4 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 5 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

Excerpt from Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (#litres_trial_promo)

P.S. Ideas, interviews & features … (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

About the book (#litres_trial_promo)

Read on (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)