‘I entertain, not educate' (From Times Series)

‘I entertain, not educate'

3:51pm Thursday 3rd February 2005 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

Anthony Horowitz
artsdepot
Nether Street, North Finchley
Today, 5pm
Anthony Horowitz, author of the Alex Rider books and Groosham Grange, says that teachers and parents do not always approve of what he writes. But he argues that his intention is not to educate, but to entertain.

"Teachers say what I write is not responsible enough," he says. "I believe that, in fiction, anything goes. My job is not to be responsible, but to be the opposite."

The author's visit to artsdepot to read from his new book in the Alex Rider series, Ark Angels, is a world exclusive but, as he is a patron to the arts centre, it is a fitting venue.

Like all his theatre visits, the event will be unplanned. Horowitz will take questions from his audience.

The Crouch End dweller says his two sons of 16 and 14 are good for research ,as they do all the dangerous sports like scuba diving and snow-boarding and can explain exactly how they got their bruises.

"They certainly help keep me in touch with young people," he says. "They read my work and give me advice."

Of course, Horowitz is not just a children's author. He is a prolific TV writer behind hits like Midsomer Murders (I stopped writing it because there was no-one left to murder in Midsomer') and the BAFTA-winning Foyles War, the fourth series of which comes out later this year.

"I have always had an interest in the Second World War, it is Britain at its best and most noble," he says. "I was intrigued by the idea of writing about murders when murder was so irrelevant at that time."

He is about to start writing a non-fiction book about why the British public like murder mysteries so much, and imagines that it is because we are repressive and have a lot of hidden secrets.

In the same vein, he asks why so many crime writers are women.

Horowitz has been writing for 25 years since he quit his job as an advertising copywriter for McCann Erickson.

It was there he met his wife, Jill Green, then an account manager at the same company, now TV producer. The two had a secret office romance.

"If we didn't have an affair we would have come to blows as we were at loggerheads," he quips.

The two have worked together ever since. Jill now produces Foyle's War.

"We have a wonderful marriage, it is almost entirely business based," he says.

Admission is £8 (£6 concessions). Call the box office on 020 8369 5454.