The tickets sold out months ago. Long before the admiring reviews of the stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies hit the press at the end of last week, theatre-goers were in no doubt they wanted to see six hours of blazing Tudor intrigue.

A £7m BBC adaptation beckons, with the actor Mark Rylance teaming up with Peter Kosminsky, director of The Government Inspector.

The runaway success of Mantel’s story could be seen as a heartwarming tale for the book industry, but it comes at a time when many insiders worry such a tale will become increasingly rare as talented authors find it ever harder break through.

Read the full article at The Guardian.