Antony Beevor

I am not someone who believes I am going to find a historical scoop. ”

Entertainment history is now the main source of supposedly historical knowledge for more and more people, but 'histo-tainment' is superficial and lacks all context. ”

Teaching the history of the British Empire links in with that of the world: for better and for worse, the Empire made us what we are, forming our national identity. A country that does not understand its own history is unlikely to respect that of others. ”

What is terrifying is the ability, through mass brainwashing or propaganda, to change normal human instinct, which does not necessarily contain very much hatred. ”

It takes me three or four years to research and write each book and the individual stories stay with you for a long time afterwards. ”

There are one or two very good women military historians who use imagination, great study and research; they can put themselves in the boots of the soldier. ”

A blend of fact and fiction has been used in various forms since the dawn of creative writing, starting with sagas and epic poems. ”

When I was younger I used to get my best writing done at night, but now it has to be during the day. I usually finish work at half past seven, then go back to the house to open a bottle of wine, have dinner, and then read or watch television. ”

I read round the subject, I make a skeleton outline, and then I start work in the relevant archives. During the marshaling of the material, I copy the material from each archive file across to the relevant chapter in the skeleton outline. ”

Restorers of paintings and pottery follow a code of conduct in their work to distinguish the original material from what they are adding later. ”