Revisionist historians are about to get their hands on the Thatcher years, shes probably going to be looked at again because she feels far enough away now, and we dont see her much on the political landscape in this country, shes kind of disappeared and she doesnt speak out much anymore.

You would go mad if you began to speculate about the impact your novel might have while you were still writing it.

I'm one of those unlucky people who had a happy childhood.

I had no sense of any reputation that What a Carve Up! might acquire - at the time I didnt even have a publisher, so my main worry was whether it was even going to see the light of day or not.

But at the same time, I have trouble keeping things out of books, which is why I don't write short stories because they turn into novels.

The more melancholy side of my literary personality is much in tune with BS Johnson's.

The biggest markets for my books outside the UK are France and Italy, and those are the two countries where I also have the closest personal relationships with my translators - I don't know whether that's a coincidence, or if there's something to be learned from it.