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August 2019 | REDONLINE.CO.UK
‘Love has always
felt like
the best
subject
matter
to me’
T
he man sitting in front of me in a slightly crumpled
suit and oxblood brogues has made millions of us cry.
In One Day, a love story between hedonistic Dexter
Mayhew and lovable Emma Morley, Nicholls compelled
more than 5m readers to fall in love with two Edinburgh
graduates – and then he broke our hearts. It’s testament
to his writing that, 10 years later, I – like many others
- am still not over it. Why did he have to kill Emma?!
‘Well, I don’t know if I would now,’ says Nicholls, shifting position in
an armchair at his publisher’s office in London. ‘I probably would think
it’s a bit much. I might have killed Dexter, which could’ve been
interesting, too, but Dexter learns from Emma and I’m not sure Emma
learns from Dexter, so there are mechanics to it that maybe
As David Nicholls
releases his
new novel,
Sweet Sorrow,
Natasha Lunn
finds out how he
feels about first
love, parenting
and the legacy of
his iconic bestseller
One Day