The University of Sheffield is located in Sheffield, Yorkshire England. Today, it boasts about 30,000 students. The university's founding can be traced back to the early 1800s.

Mantel studied law at Sheffield University and met her husband, Gerald, there. She talks about her time there as being very difficult. She was poor, dealing with issues pertaining to both her and Gerald's family, and couldn't lead the so-called "student lifestyle."