"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

16 February 2020

Anything.


“My hobby was always walking. That’s what I did most of. Experiencing the sensation and the atmosphere of it and getting the pavement underneath your feet is very good therapy.”

I wonder whether such therapy is necessary when you’re producing as many words a year as Ackroyd. He has three projects on the go at any given time, and organises his days with impressive discipline: working on a biography at home in the morning, a history book at his office in the afternoon and a novel in the evening. His planned book releases extend to 2021.

“If you cut up your day well enough, it’s perfectly possible to do anything,” he says.

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