I expect that in 40 years' time I'll be writing political tomes and working for an organisation like Oxfam.

Oddly, I do have a problem with authority. I find it very difficult to knuckle down and follow rules. Which are the classic symptoms of someone who has a troubled relationship with their father. And yet, I never had a problem with my father.

I tried being a mechanic and I tried catering, but I realized I had even less aptitude for semi-skilled labour than for academic work.

America thinks of itself as a meritocracy, so people have more respect for success and more contempt for failure.

I wouldn't describe myself as a master of anything.

I think that magazines like Vanity Fair are still operating under the old rules, and that if you come to work for a magazine like Vanity Fair, even today, you're certainly expected to treat people like Peggy Siegal very deferentially.

I don't envy young Brits crossing the Atlantic to make their fortunes today.