'Wrenching to write but satisfying'

‘I'm very conscious that as I get older, I think less nimbly and feel more keenly than I used to. Fingersmith, with its very complicated plot and its big twist, had an energy to it. I don't think I could write a book like that any more. Not that I'd especially want to. What I enjoyed about The Paying Guests was the depth of emotion in it. It was very heartfelt, wrenching to write but satisfying...

The Paying Guests is a sad book and that might be because, in your 40s, sadness enters your life. Before 40, you say hello to things; after 40 you say goodbye to them. But I'm hoping this will just be a phase because I don't want to write sad books forever.'

Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith and The Paying Guests, in the Observer