The old always think the world is getting worse; it is for the young, equipped with historical facts, to point out that, compared with 1509, or even 1939, life in 2009 is sweet as honey. Hilary Mantel badlycompareequip Change image and share on social
Writers do not want to think they are less rational than other people, and at the mercy of compulsions, but in their hearts they know they are like those people who are taken for walks by their dogs, towed through hedges and ditches by an untrained sub-human energy. Hilary Mantel compulsionditchdog share on social
Since I was a very small child, I've had a kind of reverence for the past, and I felt a very intimate connection with it. Hilary Mantel childconnectionfelt Change image and share on social
The experienced writer says to the anguished novice: 'Just do it; get something, anything, on to the screen or page, just establish a flow of words, and criticise them later.' You give this advice but can't always take it. Hilary Mantel adviceanguishcriticise share on social
But an experienced reader is also a self-aware and critical reader. I can't remember ever reading a story without judging it. Hilary Mantel awarecriticalexperience Change image and share on social
Hindsight is the historian's necessary vice. Hilary Mantel hindsighthistorianvice Change image and share on social
A novel should be a book of questions, not a book of answers. Hilary Mantel answerbookquestion Change image and share on social
Imagination only comes when you privilege the subconscious, when you make delay and procrastination work for you. Hilary Mantel delayimaginationmake Change image and share on social
Sometimes I fantasize that all my furniture has been destroyed in a cataclysm, and I have to start again with only the stationery catalogue. My entire house would become an office, which would be an overt recognition of the existing state of affairs. Hilary Mantel affaircataclysmcatalogue share on social
Though I have never thought of myself as a book collector, there are shelves in our house browsed so often, on so many rainy winter nights, that the contents have seeped into me as if by osmosis. Hilary Mantel bookbrowsecollector Change image and share on social
