Sebastian Faulks: ‘George Orwell showed me that authorities are usually wrong’

The British novelist on the excitement of Alistair MacLean, the passion of DH Lawrence and the irreverence of Jane Austen

My earliest reading memory
Something called the Beacon Readers at a small village school, in the corner of a field. I can picture the jacket’s conical torch design on a brown cloth background.

My favourite book growing up
I liked books about witches, of which there seemed to be quite a lot lying around. A little later, aged about 11, I discovered Alistair MacLean whose formula – a group of desperadoes on a wartime mission but with a traitor in their number – I found almost intolerably exciting.

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MmBIqbt