Ralph Fiennes Partial Interview - RalphFiennes-JenniferLash.com
GREG BOTTOMS: Your mother published her first novel, The Burial, in 1961 at the age of 23. As a boy, how aware were you that your mother was an important artist?
RALPH FIENNES: Well, I was incredibly aware from a very early age that she was a writer, because she talked about it. But I didn't know what "important" meant.
GREG BOTTOMS: She confronted her illness head-on in her memoir On Pilgrimage. There is also a real darkness and sorrow in Blood Ties, but at the same time it is ultimately a very life-affirming work, a work about healing and hope. How much of the earnestness and power of this book comes from her dealing with her illness?
RALPH FIENNES: Some of it certainly comes from her illness, but I think she had the idea for Blood Ties before then. I think much of it comes from having had an unhappy childhood herself, which gave her insight and made her very perceptive about how a child might feel. She knew the importance of love for children; indeed, felt that this was the primary, most important thing.
For the rest of this interview, please go to: Ralph Fiennes Interview