with mary woolstonecraft, i was 40 when i wrote that book, my first book.love with the whole process, with research and writing. and i realised at once that i had found my mitre. and you would always do that. but then i couldn't. i had to earn my living. you can't earn your living from writing biographies. so i was very lucky to have the job at the sunday times. wnd when i left the sunday times after wapping in 1986, i was able then, in my 50s, to start on my career as a writer, and for the next 25 years i wrote historical biographies, and i was very, very happy doing it. well, there's an enormous amount of happiness in this book, despite all the ups and downs, the difficulties, and indeed the tragedies, you seem to be somebody who is somehow able to cope to a remarkable degree. yes, well, that is true. you do have to cope. if you don't cope... what's left? you might as well give in. and i think i learned to cope a bit in childhood. because i was a child who was disliked by my father and loved by my mother. and i had that curious experience as a small child

with mary woolstonecraft, i was a0 when i wrote that book, my first book. at once that i had found my mitre. and you would always do that. but then i couldn't. i had to earn my living. you can't earn your living from writing biographies. so i was very lucky to have the job at the sunday times and when i left the sunday times after wapping in 1986 i was able then, in my 50s, to start on my career as a writer and for the next 25 years i wrote historical biographers and i was very, very happy doing it. well, there's an enormous amount of happiness in this book, despite all the ups and downs and indeed the tragedies, you seem to be somebody who is somehow able to cope to a remarkable degree? yes, well, that is true but you do have to cope. if you don't cope... what's left? you might as well give in. and i think i learned to cope a bit in childhood. i was a child who was disliked by my father and loved by my mother. and i had that curious experience as a small child of realising this, of being well aware that my father didn't like me, and that my mother was my s