I loved Gore Vidal's Burr. That book gave me courage.

For many imaginative writers, working for the press is a fact of their life. But it's best not to like it too much.

For what's the point of breeding children, if each generation does not improve on what went before.

In my 20s I was in constant pain from undiagnosed endometriosis. With no prospect of a cure, I decided I needed a career - writing - that could accommodate being ill.

There is so much else in the world that is more interesting [ than monarchy].

History is always changing behind us, and the past changes a little every time we retell it.

Once you're labeled as mentally ill, and that's in your medical notes, then anything you say can be discounted as an artefact of your mental illness.