Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters contributed a distinctive version of the story.

Quote by Penelope Lively

Topics: Penelope Lively Quotes

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

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

Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there...

Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there...

I'm writing another novel and I know what I'm going to do after, which may...

I'm writing another novel and I know what I'm going to do after, which may...

All history, of course, is the history of wars

All history, of course, is the history of wars

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...

You learn a lot, writing fiction.

You learn a lot, writing fiction.

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...

Equally, we require a collective past - hence the endless reinterpretations of history, frequently to...

Equally, we require a collective past - hence the endless reinterpretations of history, frequently to...

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...

The pleasure of writing fiction is that you are always spotting some new approach, an...

The pleasure of writing fiction is that you are always spotting some new approach, an...

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

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

The consideration of change over the century is about loss, though I think that social...

The consideration of change over the century is about loss, though I think that social...

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...

It was a combination of an intense interest in children's literature, which I've always had,...

It was a combination of an intense interest in children's literature, which I've always had,...

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...

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...

Deep down I have this atavistic feeling that really I should be in the country.

Deep down I have this atavistic feeling that really I should be in the country.

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 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...

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...