Freya North: “Nearly every book I read enhances my life”

Freya North, British writer who focuses mainly on issues of modern womanhood, speaks about her passion for writing.

Q. What inspired you to write?

“It was a ‘who’ not a ‘what’ that inspired me to write. I didn’t much like school, but I had a marvellous English teacher, Mrs Balcombe, who encouraged me with my creative writing, even if it meant I didn’t do her ‘normal’ homework. I am indebted to her and we are still in touch.”

Q. Which is the one book that changed your life?

“There hasn’t been just one. Nearly every book I read enhances my life in one way or another and books often change the way I see or think about things. Reading heightens my emotional intelligence, whether I laugh or cry more than I thought I could.”

Q. What’s the one phrase from a book you read, that stands out in your memory?

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” — Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

Q. Is there any author who has greatly inspired you?

“Well, I love Thomas Hardy because I love the British countryside and in his novels, landscape is never a backdrop, always a leading character. I’ve been greatly inspired by John Irving who I consider to be a superb storyteller. Most of all though, is the huge impact on me by wonderful authors like Rose Tremain, Mary Wesley, Jane Gardam and Barbara Trapido whose books I devoured in my teens and remain amongst my favourites.”

Q. Which 10 books would you recommend that everyone read?

“Winnie The Pooh / The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

A Widow For One Year by John Irving

Restoration by Rose Tremain

Crusoe’s Daughter by Jane Gardam

Not That Sort of Girl by Mary Wesley

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Tess of the Durbevilles by Thomas Hardy

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Every novel that Maggie O’Farrell has written!”

— The author will be a part of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2016, which will be held in Dubai from March 1 - 12.