‘That,’ she agreed, ‘was a mistake. The publishers persuaded me that it would be so much better for publicity. From their point of view they were right. I became quite notorious for a bit—it used to make me giggle inside when I saw people looking speculatively at me in restaurants and places—they seemed to find it so hard to tie up what they saw with what they thought. Lots of people I didn’t care for took to turning up regularly at the flat, so to get rid of them, and because I’d proved that I didn’t have to go home, I went home again.
‘The book rather spoiled things, though. People would be so literal-minded about the title. I seem to have been keeping up a permanent defensive ever since against people I don’t like—and those I wanted to like were either scared or shocked. What’s so anno
