I was saddened to hear this great lady has passed. Just today a friend messaged me to say so. Another fan of her work. And what a body of work that is. I say "is" rather than "was" as her work will stand the test of ages and always remain current.
As if the work could pass along with the creator.
As with so many I was mesmerised at times by the viseral power of her work.One moment alone in The Mirror And The Light caught me like a winding blow to the stomach. When the enemies of Thomas Cromwell set about her like a biblical pack of jackals and we felt his fall as though we had taken up residence in his mind.An illusion off course but the coceit was we thought we knew when in fact we only felt. Thats as real as it gets.And its going to have to do.
I have seen a few of her talks online. And they are wry bittersweet affairs.She was witty, insightful and more than anything else she caused me to slow down, to think at the same speed I was absorbing her words.A Cliff Notes absorbtion of her words is not reading her at all. Like light reflecting on shifting water, each wave concealing more than it showed.
The work remains. Sensibly upright, timeless tomes that might well gather dust but never age.
One cannot help but feel another age has passed. There has been so much of that off late.But unlike the monarchial regeneration no one steps into the shoes of lost authors. No cross of office, no orb of significance.
Broken staffs signifying an end of service makes more sense to me now.
Even as much as spilled ink or blunted quill or the pages blank and unused that will remain so.
No more tales to tell.
The Queen is dead.
