Hannah Kent Quotations

I had expected that at some point during the first draft a light would go on, and I would understand, finally, how to write a book. This never happened. The process was akin to blindly walking in the dark, feeling my way only by touch, and only recognising dead ends when I smacked into them.

I really hate the term 'historical novel' - it reminds me of bodice-rippers. But I'm hooked on research, and I really, really enjoy it.

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do as a money-making job.

I don't like to pretend I was guided in any way by the supernatural world, but the more you talk about that, the easier it is to dismiss those notions.

There are secrets at the heart of every story; there is something that must be uncovered or discovered, both by the reader and by the characters.

I had an interest in Scandinavian countries because I'd never seen snow.

Most writers are drawn to what is unknown, rather than what is clear in any tale.

I applied for funding to embark on an overseas field trip in Iceland, and spent six weeks there happily holed up in the national archives, museums and libraries, sifting through ministerial and parish records, censuses, maps, microfilm, logs, and local histories.

It was only later that I suffocated under the weight of his arguments, and his darker thoughts articulated. It was only later that our tongues produced landslides, that we become caught in the cracks between what we said and what we meant, until we could not find each other, did not trust the words in our own mouths.

Cruel birds, ravens, but wise. And creatures should be loved for their wisdom if they cannot be loved for kindness.