In the 18th century, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny, and Richard Arkwright pioneered the water-propelled spinning frame which led to the mass production of cotton. This was truly revolutionary. The cotton manufacturers created a whole new class of people - the urban proletariat. The structure of society itself would never be the same.

Fear of death has never played a large part in my consciousness - perhaps unimaginative of me.

Since Einstein developed his theory of relativity, and Rutherford and Bohr revolutionised physics, our picture of the world has radically changed.

It is remarkable how easily children and grown-ups adapt to living in a dictatorship organised by lunatics.

I think I became a Catholic to annoy my father.

I might be deceiving myself but I do not think that I do have an inordinate fear of death.

Nearly all monster stories depend for their success on Jack killing the Giant, Beowulf or St. George slaying the Dragon, Harry Potter triumphing over the basilisk. That is their inner grammar, and the whole shape of the story leads towards it.