My secret life: Louis de Bernières

Novelist, 55

The home I grew up in ... was a Surrey country house, half-tiled, with a large garden and orchard. I had the smallest room, as my sisters were more important than me. But there was a wonderful attic in which to enjoy complete solitude.

When I was a child I wanted to be ... a soldier. My father was in the 8th army, enduring the campaign on the Gothic line.

My greatest inspiration ... was the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I first read him at my sister's suggestion. I was bowled over by the elaborate style, the magical realism and the political realism. Unfortunately, I read him too much and now I don't really like his work.

The moment that changed me for ever ... was seeing a young woman killed in a railway accident. She was called Maria and fell out of the train in Colombia while going to get me a beer. She took two hours to die; I lost my religious faith instantly.

My real-life villain ... is Chairman Mao.

I drive ... three classic cars, none of them work. I have a Ford Pilot, a Ford Popular and a Morris Minor Traveller.

If I could change one thing about myself ... I'd be four inches taller. I'm built like a gorilla.

My style icon is ... Sod off, I don't do style.

At night I dream of ... sex, mainly. I ought to apologise for this, but it is out of my control.

The shops I can't walk past ... Junk shops.

The book that changed me was ... 'The Cruel Sea', written by Nicholas Monsarrat in 1951. The last album I bought ... 'Side by Side' by Mikis Theodorakis & Zulfu Livaneli. These are two of the greatest song-writers of the modern age and co-founders of the Greek-Turkish Friendship Society (which doesn't have any members).

The person who really makes me laugh ... is my little girl Sophie, aged one. She was born happy and I feel so envious.

It's not fashionable but I like ... rosé wine, with Eastern food. You can drink litres of it without being sick or getting a hangover.

My favourite work of art ... is a statue of a boy carrying a calf over his shoulders in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

My favourite item of clothing ... is an old blue shirt. I bought it at a motorway service station on my way to Bridport.

You wouldn't know it but I'm good at ... carpentry. My father taught me a great deal when I was young. Writers go mad if they do not root themselves in physical activity.

You may not know it but I'm no good at ... painting and drawing. I paint like a 12-year-old, so maybe I'd be fantastically successful.

All my money goes on ... stock market crashes and musical instruments.

If I have time to myself ... I snooze first, then go to my workshop second.

My house ... is a Georgian rectory in Norfolk. My most valuable possession is ... my Portuguese mandolin (or my Spanish guitar).

My favourite building ... is the house that I grew up in (see above).

Movie heaven ... The 1964 film 'Zorba the Greek'. The combination of Theodoraki's music and Anthony Quinn's exuberance makes the film far better than the book.

The best invention ever ... is anaesthesia.

I wish I'd never worn ... flowery jeans.

In 10 years' time, I hope to be ... a member of the order of the White Elephant, in Denmark. You only get the Légion d'honneur if you set a book in France, or publicly adore it. France is my favourite country, actually.

My greatest regret ... is not having had enough fun when I was young; I felt the meaninglessness and futility of life too much.

My life in six words ... misadventures with interesting and unexpected outcomes.

A life in brief

Louis de Bernières was born in London in December 1954. His bestselling novel 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1993. De Bernières lives in Norfolk with his wife and daughter, and will be reading from his new book 'A Partisan's Daughter' at the Althorp Literary Festival on 13 June. Visit althorp.com/literary.php