Q&A: Hilary Mantel

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/13/hilary-mantel-interview

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Born in Derbyshire, Mantel, 62, published her first novel, Every Day Is Mother's Day, in 1985. Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up The Bodies, won the Man Booker prize in 2009 and 2012, and have been adapted for the stage by the RSC. Her new short story collection, The Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher, is published this month.

What is your greatest fear? Words fail me.

What is your earliest memory? A spider.

Which living person do you most admire, and why? Persons are best considered posthumously.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I don't finish my sentences because I…

What is the trait you most deplore in others? Finishing them for me. Believe me, that is not what I was going to say.

Your most embarrassing moment? It's complex. It involves the late Ted Hughes and a bottle of spray polish.

What is the worst thing anyone's said to you? Recently? "Didn't you write The White Queen?"

What would your super power be? Rising from the dead would be handy.

What do you most dislike about your appearance? Being fat. But see "greatest achievement".

What is your favourite smell? Cuir Ambre, by Prada. Discontinued. Typical!

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? A pie I once composed. Steak, Guinness, mushrooms and smoked oysters. Possibly the greatest pie in history.

Where would you like to live? Where I do live: in East Devon, by the sea.

What is your favourite book? Molly Keane's Good Behaviour.

What keeps you awake at night? Tudor courtiers chit-chatting.

What would be your fancy dress costume of choice? I'd go as a bag for life.

What is your guiltiest pleasure? Making up just fates for those who cross me.

What or who is the greatest love of  your life? Who? My husband. What? Ink.

Which living person do you most despise, and why? Those I despise die suddenly. I'm not issuing a warning.

If you could go back in time, where would you go? Paris, 14 July 1789.

What is the worst job you've done? Selling sheepskins, in August.

If you could edit your past, what would you change? I'd have a misspent youth.

What is the closest you've come to death? About six inches.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? A knight. But I've only managed to be a dame. I had in mind armour, etc, rather than going to the palace in a hat.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life? A time machine.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you? To be patient.