Hilary's bookshelf? (11)
The answer is "mantelpiece" and I am unable to understand the wordplay. (Can't even get the definition!)
I would be grateful if some wise owl could unravel this knotty problem for me.
Good morning Kookaburra - I've just googled "Hilary " mantelpiece" : there is an author called Hilary Mantel who won the Booker prize - last year I think. There is also a lead to the website Fifteensquared which explains the clue and answer.
Thanks AJT. Some of the Guardian crosswords require a substantial body of general knowledge. My initial thinking kept returning to Sir Edmund Hillary who is much loved in my neck of the woods. I had even googled Hilary but gave up after all the entries about Hilary Clinton and some pop singer I had never heard of. It's good to know that there is a helpful wise owl in the northern hemisphere.
Regards
Kookaburra.