Typical conclusion of a tale told by a pessimist

"And then she took to her bed, and she turned her face to the wall, and she never got up again." Many stories ended in this way. These were people who loved the song of Young Charlotte. I'm so glad that I still have nearly half of Hilary Mantel to read. Her work is seldom jolly, or at least the humor's of a certain sort, and the world is one of shadows, with more ambiguity in situation and character than will lend itself to being sorted into black or white, good or bad, sheep or goats.