''Fludd'' is a novel by

Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...

. First published by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

in 1989, it won the

Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was presented from 1967 until 2003 by the Royal Society of Literature for the best regional novel of the year. It is named after the novelist Winifred Holtby who was noted for her novels set in the rural scenes ...

that year. The novel is set in 1956, in Fetherhoughton, a dreary and isolated fictional town somewhere on the moors of northern England. The people of the town seem benighted, but are portrayed by Mantel with sympathy and affection. The plot centres on the Roman Catholic church and convent in the town and concerns the dramatic impact of the mysterious Fludd, who is apparently a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

sent by the bishop to assist Father Angwin, a priest who continues in his role despite privately having lost his faith. The novel presents an uncompromisingly harsh view of the Roman Catholic Church, portraying a vividly cruel mother superior and a thoughtless, bullying bishop. The narrative flirts with the supernatural (for instance, a wart migrates miraculously from one person to another, a character bursts into flames, Fludd causes food to vanish without appearing to eat it). Fludd resembles the Devil in various ways (he instantly succeeds in learning people's innermost feelings and wishes, and he performs subtle profane miracles like maintaining an ever-full whiskey bottle). Yet Fludd's effect on both of the two main protagonists, Father Angwin and the young Sister Philomena, turns out to be very liberating, and the novel ends with some degree of new hope for both of them.

References

External links

Fludd
book reviews at Bibliochat 1989 British novels Anti-Catholic publications English novels Novels by Hilary Mantel Fiction set in 1956 Novels set in the 1950s Viking Press books {{1980s-hist-novel-stub