I was very pleased, obviously, to have outsold such great writers. But I'm not insane - I do realize that I am a popular writer who people buy to take on vacation.

I didn't think for a moment that I was better than any of these people, I was just lucky I lived in this time of mass-market paperback.

I also wanted to bring in the question of class-consciousness and inequality of position. The people of Ireland have no right to be class conscious.

Everybody has always loved eating in Ireland and the family always gathered around the table - which was also where all the stories were told.