Part 2, Section 2 (p. 70)
“
The trouble with England, he thinks, is that it’s so poor in gesture. We shall have to develop a hand signal for “Back off, our prince is fucking this man’s daughter.” He is surprised that the Italians have not done it. Though perhaps they have, and he just never caught on.
— Hilary Mantel
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The trouble with England, he thinks, is that it’s so poor in gesture. We shall have to develop a hand signal for “Back off, our prince is fucking this man’s daughter.” He is surprised that the Italians have not done it. Though perhaps they have, and he just never caught on." in the context of "Part 2, Section 2 (p. 70)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Hilary Mantel" (Quotes, Wolf Hall (2009): All page numbers from the American trade paperback edition published by Picador in 2010, , 20th printing
Won the 2009 Booker Prize and the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
Italics and ellipses as in the book. Bold face added for emphasis. )
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Hilary Mantel
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel DBE FRSL (/mænˈtɛl/ man-TEL; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories.
About Hilary Mantel
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel DBE FRSL (/mænˈtɛl/ man-TEL; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories.
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