“Like a historian, I interpret, select, discard, shape, simplify. Unlik...” — Hilary Mantel Quote

“Like a historian, I interpret, select, discard, shape, simplify. Unlike a historian, I make up people's thoughts.”

“The more history I learnt, the less interested I got in winning arguments and the more interested in establishing the truth.”

“Sometimes people ask, 'Does writing make you happy?' But I think that's beside the point. It makes you agitated, and continually in a state where you're off balance. You seldom feel serene or settled.”

“When I write poetry, I write in torrents. I have no interest in quality or finesse, only in quantity and waste. Scribble and discard, scribble and discard.”

“Because deep-frying requires a high volume of oil, it's okay to reuse the oil a couple of times for economy's sake. When the color or smell of the oil starts to change, it's time to discard.”

“Many people on the political left found my work psychologically liberating. They began to say: once you realize that standards emerge historically, then you can see through and discard all the norms to which we have been falsely enslaved.”