Peter Ackroyd is a prolific writer. John Preston finds out why he no longer parties hard and why he is happiest living alone Halfway through my interview with Peter Ackroyd, I quote a remark made by a character in his new novel, The Fall of Troy. Ackroyd looks at me in astonishment. 'Who said that?' 'One of your characters,' I tell him. 'He's called Leonid.' 'Leonid? There's no one called Leonid in my book.' 'There is, you know,' I say, and pull out a copy of the book to show him. Ackroyd peers at the page through his heavy-framed glasses. 'My God, so there is… I wonder why on earth I called him that.' ( Read more... ) |