Maggie O’Farrell

And then there was one day when I came back.

I have a studio in the garden.

I was writing in the garden.

And I came back up and it was dinner time.

And my daughter, who's 17, looked at me and she said, you did it today, didn't you?

And I said, yes, I did.

And she said, I could tell by the look in your eye.

And I said, how did you know?

And she said, I could just tell.

Yeah, just getting ready.

I don't know.

I wouldn't really think of myself as a historical novelist.

I just think of it as a novelist, really, as myself as a novelist.

And I suppose I just approach, even if I'm, you know, no matter what time period I'm writing about, I just try to approach it as I would any novel.

And actually, the last two books I wrote before this were set in the 16th century, so this one felt, you know, 19th century.

It felt...

Basically, yesterday, in terms of that.

So, yeah, I don't think now I'm going to sit down and write a historical novel, capital H, capital N. I think I just try to approach it as I would any other novel.

Yes, I suppose I just wait and see what's there.

And it's impossible to be an individual in the world totally cut off from historical and political international changes.