The East Anglian Daily Times interviewed Saskia Sarginson about her family life, growing up in the country, and settling in the city. We have a few snippets of the article below.

Where did you grow up?

I spent most of my childhood years in Tangham Forest. (Outside Woodbridge in Suffolk.) I lived in a small Forestry Commission cottage with my mother and my two younger siblings.

It was a very happy time – we kept a couple of cats, two goats and a pony. My mother being a free-spirited hippy of sorts, let us all run wild in the forest. I remember having early morning swims at Shingle Street before school in the summer and then having a barbeque breakfast on the beach.

How did that upbringing shape you as an adult?

When I first left home, I was hungry for the big city, and for an urban existence. I lived in a completely different way from how I was brought up. But once I’d had children, I looked for ways of getting more space and peace into our London existence.

What’s your style philosophy at home?

I’m not a fan of anything that seems contrived, or that I’m scared to use in case I get it dirty. I like a home to look as though it evolved gradually. Nothing has to be perfect – old, worn things have a history. Books, flowers, a piano, animals, cooking smells, all those things conjure up the perfect home to me.

Saskia’s latest book The Stranger it out now. Buy it here.