Literary Birthday – 27 June – Simon Sebag Montefiore

Happy Birthday, Simon Sebag Montefiore, born 27 June 1965.

Quotes

1. Real stories – whether in pure fiction or historical – have a certain indefinable power; we are endlessly curious about the past and hungry for learning that we hope will illuminate the present.
2. Historical fiction is simply fiction set in the past, and should be judged as such.
3. A book’s title is vital.
4. Trump wants to be the first American tsar. With his hero worship of Putin, his admiration for the apparent omnipotence of the Kremlin, schoolboyish crush on Putin’s gangster swagger and his contempt for democracy, Trump wants to rule with his family, taking decisions purely because he’s right about everything like a tsar.
5. The greatest privilege of childhood is to live totally in the present.
6. A crenellated wall of books encircles my bed, its tottering towers looming ever taller, always on the verge of collapsing onto oblivious sleepers.

Simon Sebag Montefiore is a British historian, television presenter, and award-winning author of popular history books and novels. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Jerusalem and The Romanovs. Visit his website: Simon Sebag Montefiore

Source for image: Author’s publicist: Credit: Sasha Sebag-Montefiore

by Amanda Patterson