Mantel would leave notebooks and diaries all over the flat in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, where the couple lived for 12 years, but they had an honourable agreement that McEwen would never read them. It was only after she died that he opened the last one. It was written around the time of the Queen’s death, after which Mantel was inundated with requests from newspapers.

"Hilary Mantel’s last novel was to have been an Austen mash-up: read an exclusive extract starring Mr Darcy", The Guardian, 22 april 2023