I don't really believe in stories, only in the people who tell them.

A feminist man is a bit like a vegetarian: it's the humanitarian principle he's defending, I suppose.

Writing, more than any other art, is indexed to the worthiness of the self because it is identified in peoples minds with emotion.

It is interesting how keen people are for you to do something they would never dream of doing themselves, how enthusiasticall y they drive you to your own destruction.

Society in the English countryside is still strangely, quaintly divided. If black comedy and a certain type of social commentary are what you want, I think English rural communities offer quite a lot of material.

My children are living, thinking human beings. It isn't in my power to regret them, for they belong to themselves.

Having your second child, in case you were wondering, is a lot harder than having your first, except for those people who find it easier. I'm afraid I don't have the latest figures to confirm this.