I used to hate flying. I would sit there, rigid, convinced that if I relaxed, the plane would drop out of the sky. Sarah Waters convincedropfly Change image and share on social
I knew I'd always be a second-rate academic, and I thought, 'Well, I'd rather be a second-rate novelist or even a third-rate one'. Sarah Waters academicknownovelist Change image and share on social
It was a great childhood. We weren't especially wealthy or anything, but I felt I had a kind of safety and freedom. Sarah Waters childhoodfeltfreedom Change image and share on social
The early '20s were like the waist of an hourglass. Lots of things were hurtling toward it and squeezing through it and then hurtling out the other side. Sarah Waters 20searlyhourglass Change image and share on social
I love film and, particularly, shorts. You don't get to see them often, and they're a great little form, like a short story. Sarah Waters filmformgreat Change image and share on social
I love research. Sometimes I think writing novels is just an excuse to allow myself this leisurely time of getting to know a period and reading its books and watching its films. I see it as a real treat. Sarah Waters bookexcusefilm share on social
When theatre works, it's like nothing else, and when it doesn't, which is often, it's excruciating. It's perhaps not so excruciating when a novel goes wrong, but there is a kind of magic that can and should happen. Sarah Waters excruciatehappenkind share on social
Sometimes I think I'd be perfectly happy to go on rewriting 'Tipping the Velvet' forever because it was so much fun. Sarah Waters foreverfunhappy Change image and share on social
The relationship you have with your mother is like nothing else. They do kind of know everything about you, even though they don't confront it. That is often a dynamic from childhood onwards. As a teenager, you want to be independent and do slightly furtive things. Sarah Waters childhoodconfrontdynamic share on social
Ours is a world which feels so unsettled and dangerous in large ways, whether it's terrorism or global financial meltdown or climate change - huge things that affect us deeply, and yet things about which we can do, individually, very little. Sarah Waters affectchangeclimate share on social
