Captain Corelli's Mandolin was your fifth book and a departure from the style (magic realism) of your previous three novels set in South America.
Were you surprised by its success?
Very surprised. I was doing OK with the four South American books and was preparing to write a fifth. Then I read an account of the activities of the Italian invading army in Cephalonia during World War II and decided to base my fifth book on that.
To be honest I was a bit fed up with the South America thing and the magic realism. This is a technique in which magical elements appear in an otherwise realistic setting. And actually Captain Corelli had a much bigger potential market - although I didn't realise that when I wrote it.
I'm interested to hear about how you go about the actual process of writing. Is it a slog... or enjoyable work? Do you write to a routine?
No, writing is never a slog for me, because I only write when I actually feel like writing. I may not write a word for months on end, but when I do get down to it I am a very hard worker. I think a 16-hour writing stretch is the record so far. I believe my method of working is the reason I've never yet suffered from writer's block. If I worked at it solidly every day I think that would change.
Do you use a computer to write?
My first novel was actually written in longhand, the next four were written on a word processor and my latest work, Birds Without Wings was written on a computer.
I do sometimes write poetry and this cannot be written on a computer, it must be directly onto the page in longhand.
All of your books are set overseas, is there a reason for this?
I'm interested in telling stories and so far... most of these seem to be set outside Britain. For a long time I felt that the UK had been too stable for too long to throw up many interesting story lines. But just lately I've revised that view and I now believe the country is indeed much more exotic than I had believed it to be.
The English are odd people. I remember one occasion when I was standing on a railway platform in London. A man walked up to me and said: "Aren't you Louis de Berniéres?" I replied that yes I was. He nodded and said: "I thought so." And walked off. Very English.
Can I ask about you? Where does the name de Berniéres come from? Also, where were you born, educated etc...? I believe you had a number of jobs before becoming a full-time writer.
The name is of Huguenot origin, although I myself was born in a military hospital in London.
My father was an army officer, so we travelled around a lot in my youth. My very early years were spent in Jordan and later Cyprus. Then after my father left the army, I grew up in Surrey, where my father worked for a children's charity.
I was educated at a fairly minor public school at Bradfield in Berkshire. The school was noted for producing plays in Greek... but for little else.
After school I joined the army, but it was not for me. After a little while my grandmother died, and as luck would have it, she left me almost exactly the sum of money needed to buy myself out of the army. After this I spent a year in Colombia. I would have liked to travel more in South America, but I couldn't get an exit visa from Colombia without first obtaining a certificate of paid tax. So I was sort of stuck there.
Most writers are reticent people, how do you handle stuff like book signings, readings and what you will be doing in Malta?
Reticent? No not me. I love all that stuff, I'm a very sociable person and I really do enjoy book signings and readings. I suppose it's a chance to show off. I also have a small band that plays traditional folk and some classical music. So I'm quite an outgoing person really. When I lived in Surrey our next-door neighbour was the actress Maggie Smith. She was the opposite and said she became completely tongue-tied when asked to extemporise; she claimed she was no good without a script.
You have been described as "sceptical" about religion. Is this a recent or a long-standing doubt?
Very long standing. I was brought up as a high church Anglican. I became very sceptical when I was about 18. But I totally lost all religion while I was in Colombia. I was on a train talking to a young woman, who later fell from the moving train and took a long time to die in great pain.
I suppose at that moment I experienced a sort of reverse Saul of Tarsus moment, when I realised I had no religious conviction or faith.
Will this be your first visit to Malta? What do you know of the island?
Yes, it will be my first visit, but it's somewhere I've always wanted to go to. I know a bit about the island's history... how it was once ruled by the Phoenicians, how it resisted the Turks and its experience in the Second World War.
I am also a great fan of the novelist Nicholas Monsarrat. When I'm in Malta I hope to meet Anne his widow.
I understand that you hated the movie of Captain Corelli. Why was this?
I think hate is too strong a word. But there was a lot wrong with the movie of Captain Corelli. I was asked to write the script, but declined as I was already working on my next book. I'm not the kind of writer who can bastardise the story just because Hollywood wants a car chase here or some gratuitous sex there.
Actually people who haven't read the book rather like the film, while those who have read the book... usually dislike it.
What writers do you read and admire?
Oh there are thousands. I love all the great Russian writers and many South American authors, plus writers like Flaubert. But I suppose my favourite writer is Thomas Hardy. Like me, he wrote about ordinary people and the unfortunate things that happen to them.
At the moment I'm reading Kite Runner by Khalid Husseini. It's about Afghanistan. Until I started reading it I had no idea that there was so much racial prejudice between Sunnis and Shiites in that country.
What's left for you to achieve?
Ha! I don't know. I regard my last novel Birds Without Wings as my masterpiece and I doubt if I'll ever write anything better. I believe I do have one more epic novel in me, but I'm sure it won't improve on Birds.
The interview with Louis de Berniéres was obtained with the kind assistance of The British Council in Malta.
Were you surprised by its success?
Very surprised. I was doing OK with the four South American books and was preparing to write a fifth. Then I read an account of the activities of the Italian invading army in Cephalonia during World War II and decided to base my fifth book on that.
To be honest I was a bit fed up with the South America thing and the magic realism. This is a technique in which magical elements appear in an otherwise realistic setting. And actually Captain Corelli had a much bigger potential market - although I didn't realise that when I wrote it.
I'm interested to hear about how you go about the actual process of writing. Is it a slog... or enjoyable work? Do you write to a routine?
No, writing is never a slog for me, because I only write when I actually feel like writing. I may not write a word for months on end, but when I do get down to it I am a very hard worker. I think a 16-hour writing stretch is the record so far. I believe my method of working is the reason I've never yet suffered from writer's block. If I worked at it solidly every day I think that would change.
Do you use a computer to write?
My first novel was actually written in longhand, the next four were written on a word processor and my latest work, Birds Without Wings was written on a computer.
I do sometimes write poetry and this cannot be written on a computer, it must be directly onto the page in longhand.
All of your books are set overseas, is there a reason for this?
I'm interested in telling stories and so far... most of these seem to be set outside Britain. For a long time I felt that the UK had been too stable for too long to throw up many interesting story lines. But just lately I've revised that view and I now believe the country is indeed much more exotic than I had believed it to be.
The English are odd people. I remember one occasion when I was standing on a railway platform in London. A man walked up to me and said: "Aren't you Louis de Berniéres?" I replied that yes I was. He nodded and said: "I thought so." And walked off. Very English.
Can I ask about you? Where does the name de Berniéres come from? Also, where were you born, educated etc...? I believe you had a number of jobs before becoming a full-time writer.
The name is of Huguenot origin, although I myself was born in a military hospital in London.
My father was an army officer, so we travelled around a lot in my youth. My very early years were spent in Jordan and later Cyprus. Then after my father left the army, I grew up in Surrey, where my father worked for a children's charity.
I was educated at a fairly minor public school at Bradfield in Berkshire. The school was noted for producing plays in Greek... but for little else.
After school I joined the army, but it was not for me. After a little while my grandmother died, and as luck would have it, she left me almost exactly the sum of money needed to buy myself out of the army. After this I spent a year in Colombia. I would have liked to travel more in South America, but I couldn't get an exit visa from Colombia without first obtaining a certificate of paid tax. So I was sort of stuck there.
Most writers are reticent people, how do you handle stuff like book signings, readings and what you will be doing in Malta?
Reticent? No not me. I love all that stuff, I'm a very sociable person and I really do enjoy book signings and readings. I suppose it's a chance to show off. I also have a small band that plays traditional folk and some classical music. So I'm quite an outgoing person really. When I lived in Surrey our next-door neighbour was the actress Maggie Smith. She was the opposite and said she became completely tongue-tied when asked to extemporise; she claimed she was no good without a script.
You have been described as "sceptical" about religion. Is this a recent or a long-standing doubt?
Very long standing. I was brought up as a high church Anglican. I became very sceptical when I was about 18. But I totally lost all religion while I was in Colombia. I was on a train talking to a young woman, who later fell from the moving train and took a long time to die in great pain.
I suppose at that moment I experienced a sort of reverse Saul of Tarsus moment, when I realised I had no religious conviction or faith.
Will this be your first visit to Malta? What do you know of the island?
Yes, it will be my first visit, but it's somewhere I've always wanted to go to. I know a bit about the island's history... how it was once ruled by the Phoenicians, how it resisted the Turks and its experience in the Second World War.
I am also a great fan of the novelist Nicholas Monsarrat. When I'm in Malta I hope to meet Anne his widow.
I understand that you hated the movie of Captain Corelli. Why was this?
I think hate is too strong a word. But there was a lot wrong with the movie of Captain Corelli. I was asked to write the script, but declined as I was already working on my next book. I'm not the kind of writer who can bastardise the story just because Hollywood wants a car chase here or some gratuitous sex there.
Actually people who haven't read the book rather like the film, while those who have read the book... usually dislike it.
What writers do you read and admire?
Oh there are thousands. I love all the great Russian writers and many South American authors, plus writers like Flaubert. But I suppose my favourite writer is Thomas Hardy. Like me, he wrote about ordinary people and the unfortunate things that happen to them.
At the moment I'm reading Kite Runner by Khalid Husseini. It's about Afghanistan. Until I started reading it I had no idea that there was so much racial prejudice between Sunnis and Shiites in that country.
What's left for you to achieve?
Ha! I don't know. I regard my last novel Birds Without Wings as my masterpiece and I doubt if I'll ever write anything better. I believe I do have one more epic novel in me, but I'm sure it won't improve on Birds.
The interview with Louis de Berniéres was obtained with the kind assistance of The British Council in Malta.