Simon Sebag Montefiore
Simon Sebag Montefiore read history at Cambridge University. His latest book is Jerusalem: The Biography.
From his Q & A at the Guardian:
What has changed for you since [Jerusalem: The Biography] was first published?"I took Simon Sebag-Montefiore’s book Jerusalem, The Biography to Mauritius on holiday with me," wrote the novelist Santa Montefiore last year. "As I’m married to him, I promised I would read it – then rather wished I hadn’t because"...[read on]
It has been a life-changing book for me. The number of people from so many countries who write to me about it on Facebook or want me to speak in their country is much greater than with any other book.
Who's your favourite writer?
Guy de Maupassant, Marcel Proust, Pushkin, Isaac Bashevis Singer, John le Carré ... I can't decide on one.
What are your other inspirations?
I listen to music when I am writing – a real mixture, from Sephardic music from Jerusalem and 1940s Soviet jazz songs to Pitbull and David Guetta. I love the crassest pop and dance stuff. I went to Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg recently and thought I would...[read on]
--Marshal Zeringue
