History Is A Set Of Skills Rather

I'm A Very Organised And Rational And Linear Thinker And You Have To Stop All That To Write A Novel.

People Who Wrote Literary Novels About The Past Probably Didn't Want Them Pegged As Historical Fiction. Certainly That Was True In England.

I Only Became A Novelist Because I Thought I Had Missed My Chance To Become A Historian.

Like A Historian, I Interpret, Select, Discard, Shape, Simplify. Unlike A Historian, I Make Up People's Thoughts.

It Is Better Not To Try People, Not To Force Them To Desperation. Make Them Prosper; Out Of Superfluidity, They Will Be Generous. Full Bellies Breed Gentle Manners. The Pinch Of Famine Makes Monsters.