Philippa worked as a journalist and then as a producer for BBC radio before doing a PhD in 18th century literature. She lives with her husband Anthony and family on a 100-acre farm on the North York Moors near Stokesley.

What is your favourite part of the country?
Truly, my favourite part of the country is Yorkshire, my home. I have lived in the beautiful city of Edinburgh when I was working on my PhD in history, and I had a wonderful little house in Sussex, but I am a country girl at heart and I think Yorkshire has some of the most beautiful and unspoilt countryside in the UK. We have a small farm and I am proud to work the land in an environmentally sustainable way – and I love also how our flower meadow has brought in wildlife, and our ponds are a haven for waterfowl. I get as excited at the arrival of
migrant birds as if they were visiting
me personally.



What's your idea of a perfect weekend/day out in Yorkshire?
A perfect weekend is one where I ride my horse in the morning and have dinner out at one of the many fantastic pubs and restaurants in the evening. I often visit York too for the shopping and restaurants.



Do you have a favourite walk, or view?
One of my favourite walks is along the Cleveland Way. Often I can walk all day and not meet another person, in fine weather, when the sun is shining, it is a hard one to beat.



Which Yorkshire stage or screen star (past or present) would you like to take for lunch?
He is a Yorkshire star, but hardly a film star. I would love to have lunch with Guido Fawkes (Guy Fawkes) and discover from him, over ale and song, the truth of the gunpowder plot. I am certain that the plot was betrayed early on and allowed to continue by the brilliant politician and spy master Robert Cecil – but Guy Fawkes might be able to confirm this, a Yorkshireman who died for his convictions.



If you had to name your Yorkshire hidden gem, what would it be?
I can't claim that it's a hidden gem but I have had wonderful visits to Bolton Castle. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here when she first fled to England after an uprising against her in Scotland, and it's the setting for my new book, The Other Queen, which looks at this most iconic figure in an entirely new way – as an exile in England and the focus of the almost forgotten Northern Uprising. Every time I go past the little village of Topcliffe I think of their part in this extraordinary history: they were the first to ring the church bells backwards to signify the overturning of the usual order and the start of the greatest rebellion that Elizabeth I ever faced.



What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?
I think the landscape and the weather is part of the formation of the people and this is what gives this county its individual nature. The weather is hard and unpredictable and the people have a resilience and a dry humour that I love.



Do you have a favourite restaurant or pub?
I am great fan of the Tontine on the A19 north of York, and also Chapters Restaurant in Stokesley. I also love Indian food and eat with my son in Tandoori Nights in York.



Do you have a favourite food shop?
The Deli on the Green in Stokesley is a great delicatessen, and also the farm shops in the area.



How do you think Yorkshire has changed in the time you've known it?
The impact of Government policy, whether it is the culling of suspect animals during the foot and mouth epidemic, and the poor treatment of country issues generally has been a scandal and has made the hard life of farmers even harder. The consequence of this is that farmers try hard to diversify and this has such an impact on the traditional countryside. The inability of the government agency to pay farmers' subsidies on time and to the correct amount has been wicked neglect of an important industry not just for the countryside but for the nation. And now the plan to close village schools and post offices is another blow to the community life in the countryside. I cannot think why the Government does not think creatively about the problems faced by rural communities and see that these are the backbone of England and English life. Surely we can run schools and post offices and pay farmers a fair price for their production?



Are those changes for the better?
I think they are not for the better but I hope that country people will be able to defend their way of life and their work.


Who is the Yorkshire man or woman you most admire?
Robin Hood, Yes – I know he fought the Sherrif of Nottingham, in Sherwood Forest, but he was a Yorkshireman and he believed in taking from the rich to give to the poor.



How has Yorkshire influenced your work?
I write about Yorkshire in my new book, The Other Queen but my enjoyment of the countryside runs throughout all my writing. Living in the country I have the opportunity to walk and think every day, and this gives me a peaceful state to think about my writing. I know I bolt home to Yorkshire when I have been on tour in other countries, or too long working in the cities, and I cherish the relative peace and quiet.



Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist?
Of course the fantastically talented Brontë family, and I like the work of both Charlotte and Emily Brontë. I went to Sussex University when Asa Briggs was vice chancellor so I owe him a debt of gratitude for a great education. Laurence Sterne practically invented the English novel of nonsense and play, I love the poetry of Ted Hughes, and I am honoured to know both AS Byatt and Margaret Drabble and I love their work. Margaret gave me some very good advice as a novelist when I was starting my career in writing (it was write slowly – people who know my whirlwind speed will understand how good it was to have someone advise me to take more time.) And finally Sir William Empson, one of the most brilliant and interesting literary critics. I also love the work of Andrew Hemingway, a Yorkshire painter. He paints very small domestic objects with such detail and brilliance that they become very significant to the viewer. It is a mystery how he can make a cup or a teaspoon somehow symbolise the joy of life. His paintings are truly beautiful and I gave my husband one for his last birthday.

Philippa Gregory's next novel, The Other Queen, is published in September.