Who is your favourite classic writer?
My real favourites are the French classic romantic authors of the nineteenth century, whose books I grew up with. I devoured them during my teens and still re-read my favourite stories and poems by Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier, Balzac, Stendhal, Chateaubriand and Leconte de Lisle, to name just a few. A more contemporary writer, M. M. Kaye, author of The Far Pavilions and Shadow of the Moon, has also influenced my writing because I so enjoyed reading her highly descriptive books.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you do?
I’d renovate rundown period cottages (which I did before I sat down to serious writing), or I’d be an antique dealer. I love rummaging in the marchés aux puces of various countries and learning about ancient civilisations.
Find out more at www.hannahfielding.net
The Echoes of Love Page 41