Letters from Amiens

I write from five in the morning until the house wakes. By noon the day’s chapter is done and the rest belongs to letters, the town council and, when I can manage it, my boat.

The sea has always been my best collaborator. Captain Nemo was born of long afternoons watching the water from the deck and wondering what moved beneath it.

I am often asked whether I have been to all the places I describe. I have not. Most of my voyages begin and end at this desk, which is perhaps the most extraordinary vessel of all.