Books Interviews

Peter Ackroyd: 'You've lowered the tone - raise it immediately!'

Published: 28 August 2005

Prickly Peter Ackroyd can be a difficult man to pin down. But as his latest mammoth book, a biography of Shakespeare, is published, Tim Martin finds him uncharacteristically keen to talk about his life and work

Edmund White: A boy's real story

Published: 26 August 2005

Edmund White, genial godfather of gay fiction, has written a memoir that trumps even his novels in its searing frankness. JOHN FREEMAN meets him in Manhattan

Maggie Gee: How clean is your world?

Published: 19 August 2005

After her prophetic novel of London destroyed, Maggie Gee has written a satire on ethnic cleansing - in the middle-class household. Judith Palmer talks to her

Boris Akunin: The riddler of Russia

Published: 12 August 2005

Boris Akunin's tsarist-era whodunits have delighted readers across the world. Jane Jakeman talks to him about the mysteries of Moscow, past and present

Elizabeth Knox: Fantasy - the way to deal with terror

Published: 07 August 2005

The novelist tells James Urquhart about her move into the children's market

Elizabeth Kostova: The vampire chronicler

Published: 05 August 2005

Elizabeth Kostova's love affair with Eastern Europe led her to resurrect Dracula and put him back in history. Julie Wheelwright talks to an American adventurer

John Irving: The sting in the tale

Published: 05 August 2005

John Irving's discoveries about the father who abandoned him have eerie resonances with the plot of his new book. The novelist talks to Robert Dawson Scott

Penelope Lively: The roads not taken

Published: 29 July 2005

After a life full of achievement, Penelope Lively has imagined what might have been. Clare Colvin talks to her about fiction, family and the lure of alternative lives

Geraldine McCaughrean: Surfing the sea of stories

Published: 22 July 2005

Who is the finest female children's writer in Britain today? Nicholas Tucker meets Geraldine McCaughrean and is spellbound by a truly magical imagination

Kate Mosse: Grail tales of girl power

Published: 15 July 2005

Kate Mosse's new novel is an action-packed adventure of modern conspiracy and medieval passion. She talks to Marriane Brace about Cathars and codes

Bernardine Evaristo: On the road with the ghost of Mary Seacole

Published: 10 July 2005

Bernardine Evaristo's latest novel takes the reader on a wild ride round European history in search of neglected black influences. Kevin Le Gendre hitches a lift

J T LeRoy: A brutally frank autobiography

Published: 09 July 2005

Hooked on drugs at seven, a child prostitute by his teens, abandoned at the age of 15, J T LeRoy hasn't had it easy. But his experiences informed a brutally frank autobiography, and helped create a literary prodigy. Chris Sullivan talks to the cult author

Julian Barnes: Resurrecting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Published: 08 July 2005

His new novel resurrects Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a real-life mystery. He talks to Robert Hanks about history, speculation - and sex

Tracy Quan: My life laid bare

Published: 07 July 2005

After 20 years as a call girl, Tracy Quan has revealed all. John Walsh enjoys a private audience with New York's latest literary sensation

Roger Scruton: The patron saint of lost causes

Published: 03 July 2005

Roger Scruton is known as a provocative reactionary, a bogeyman for the left. But now he seems keen to show his more sensitive side. Sholto Byrnes hears the confessions of an intellectual pariah

Christian House: Happiness is a Mafia don called Leonard

Published: 26 June 2005

Wise guy: Christian House talks to a sober James Frey about his mobster mentor

Michael Arditti: A seriously startling novelist

Published: 24 June 2005

After his lustful vicars shocked the Church, Michael Arditti turns to the Mitford clan and German terrorists. Peter Stanford talks to a seriously startling novelist

Gene Wilder: An Angel In America

Published: 19 June 2005

After battling demons, difficult marriages and cancer, however, the legendary star of 'The Producers' and 'Blazing Saddles' can now reveal the secret of a happy life

Ali Smith: The power and the story

Published: 17 June 2005

Already a cult heroine, Booker-shortlisted Ali Smith dabbles in the mainstream with her new novel. Christina Patterson talks to her about politics and play

Umberto Eco: Miracles in Milan

Published: 10 June 2005

Umberto Eco has written a novel - his last, he says - that works magic with his childhood in Fascist Italy. Shaun Whiteside finds out the secrets of his sorcery

Exit, not pursued by a bear

Published: 05 June 2005

Maile Meloy went from Disney dogsbody to writer admired by Philip Roth. Marianne Brace meets the Orange Prize hopeful

Jung Chang: Of gods and monsters

Published: 03 June 2005

Jung Chang's Wild Swans was an international bestseller. Now, with her husband, Jon Halliday, she's written a biography of Mao. Julie Wheelwright meets them

Christopher Logue: Bohemians and bloody heroes

Published: 29 May 2005

Christopher Logue, poet, porn hack and scourge of pseuds, has been crafting his brilliant version of the 'Iliad' for over 40 years. Tim Martin finds out what's been keeping him

Jonathan Safran Foer: The American way of death

Published: 27 May 2005

Bestselling novelist Jonathan Safran Foer has written about the Holocaust and, now, September 11. He talks to John Freeman about the language of loss

Ted Honderich: Thunder at the Garrick club

Published: 22 May 2005

The truth is noisy, and nobody propounds it more vehemently than the political philosopher Ted Honderich. Sholto Byrnes finds out how he managed to offend the Hampstead set - and what's wrong with Tony Blair

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