All I know for certain is that reading is of the most intense importance to me; if I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment with names new to me, I would be starved - probably…

Quote by Penelope Lively

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We read Greek and Norse mythology until it came out of our ears. And the...

We read Greek and Norse mythology until it came out of our ears. And the...

I'm now an agnostic but I grew up on the King James version, which I'm...

I'm now an agnostic but I grew up on the King James version, which I'm...

I have had to empty two family homes during the last few years - first,...

I have had to empty two family homes during the last few years - first,...

The Photograph is concerned with the power that the past has to interfere with the...

The Photograph is concerned with the power that the past has to interfere with the...

I didn't write anything until I was well over 30.

I didn't write anything until I was well over 30.

It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of...

It seems to me that everything that happens to us is a disconcerting mix of...

I can walk about London and see a society that seems an absolutely revolutionary change...

I can walk about London and see a society that seems an absolutely revolutionary change...

Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they...

Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they...

All history, of course, is the history of wars

All history, of course, is the history of wars

I do like to embed a fictional character firmly in an occupation.

I do like to embed a fictional character firmly in an occupation.

You learn a lot, writing fiction.

You learn a lot, writing fiction.

Every novel generates its own climate, when you get going.

Every novel generates its own climate, when you get going.

I have long been interested in landscape history, and when younger and more robust I...

I have long been interested in landscape history, and when younger and more robust I...

I've always been fascinated by the operation of memory - the way in which it...

I've always been fascinated by the operation of memory - the way in which it...

I'm not an historian and I'm not wanting to write about how I perceive the...

I'm not an historian and I'm not wanting to write about how I perceive the...

Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I...

Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I...

I'm not an historian but I can get interested - obsessively interested - with any...

I'm not an historian but I can get interested - obsessively interested - with any...

I didn't think I had anything particular to say, but I thought I might have...

I didn't think I had anything particular to say, but I thought I might have...

We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.

We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.

I didn't want it to be a book that made pronouncements.

I didn't want it to be a book that made pronouncements.