'The first Iris Murdoch novel I ever read, aged about fourteen, was The Flight from the Enchanter. It was like a magnesium flame. '

The first Iris Murdoch novel I ever read, aged about fourteen, was The Flight from the Enchanter. It was like a magnesium flame in the darkness. The bohemian, rackety world she depicted enraptured me; still more, her writing.

'There are huge gaps in our knowledge of the witch hunts. This is mainly due to illiteracy; in 1600 only ten percent of women could sign their name. '

There are huge gaps in our knowledge of the witch hunts. This is mainly due to illiteracy; in 1600, for instance, only ten percent of women could sign their name. But also to records lost, discarded, or destroyed over time.

'I'm suspicious if the idea of a work-life, or writing life, balance is conscripted into a goal-driven agenda that has Wellness at its centre.'

That we should yearn for points of stillness within a madly spinning world is very understandable, very human. I'm only suspicious if the idea of a work-life, or writing life, balance is conscripted into a goal-driven agenda that has Wellness at its centre.

'Nature liberated Mary Kingsley from the bondage of self, and she prolonged her liberation by writing about it. '

Nature liberated Mary Kingsley from the bondage of self, and she prolonged her liberation by writing about it. She felt authentic in Africa.

'The story of Barbara Pym's rediscovery by the literary world, sixteen years after being dropped by her publisher must give heart to all writers.'

Rosamond Lehmann, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbara Pym have been a source of strength. The story of Barbara Pym's rediscovery by the literary world, sixteen years after being dropped by her publisher is one that must give heart to all writers.

'What issues from my pen is like a kind of linear stalagmite; the essential sediment of its sentences built up, at least in part, from the slow drip, drip of advice.'

What issues from my pen is like a kind of linear stalagmite; the essential sediment of its sentences built up, at least in part, from the slow drip, drip of advice from teachers, editors, reviewers, friends, and family.

'I wasn't always a serial killer. It took twenty years of hard cuts, brutal edits and fatal backspaces before my particular psychosis was fully formed. '

I wasn't always a serial killer. It took twenty years of hard cuts, brutal edits and fatal backspaces before my particular psychosis was fully formed. Nowadays, my poorer darlings are killed off before too much time is invested, or words written.

'I splashed out on an Apple PowerBook Duo 210. A very early laptop with four whole megabytes of RAM. And that's when my brain started changing. '

I splashed out on an Apple PowerBook Duo 210. A very early laptop with four whole megabytes of RAM. And that's when my brain started changing. The infinite possibilities of the computer excited me. I dreamt of rooms, opening into rooms...

'My last novel was set in a hotel on an island off the coast of Tuscany, and for the year that I was working on it I lived in a kind of virtual Italy. '

My last novel was set in a hotel on an island off the coast of Tuscany, and for the year that I was working on it I lived in a kind of virtual Italy. I sought out delicatessens, amassed recipe books and drew up multi-course Italian menus.

'I suppose I'm what's known these days as an 'influencer', and while that term has shallow connotations, I take the responsibility both seriously and sedentarily. '

I suppose I'm what's known these days as an 'influencer', and while that term has shallow connotations, I take the responsibility both seriously and sedentarily. I read for two hours most days; under the duvet, stretched out on the sofa, on the train.