Amanda Foreman

Amanda Foreman won the Whitbread Prize for Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Her new book is A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War.

From her Q & A with Boyd Tonkin at the Independent:

Choose a favourite author, and say why you admire her/him

Colm Tóibín. When I read 'The Master', I felt that I had read a true classic. It's so rare nowadays that you have that feeling: it was a privilege to read it.

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Which fictional character most resembles you?

I think that once you become a parent you cease to think of yourself as a hero or heroine. When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' – her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.

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Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

Jean McConville. She's one of the IRA's "disappeared" – a Catholic widowed mother of 10 [secretly murdered by the Provisional IRA in 1972]. She lost her life simply for doing what she thought was right. I want her suffering and her sacrifice to be recognised. I think there should be a memorial garden for her.

Read the complete Q & A.

Visit Amanda Foreman's website.

--Marshal Zeringue