Esther Freud: ‘My parents died within four days of each other. I was engulfed’

Born in London, Esther Freud, 63, is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and Lucian Freud. She trained as an actor and, in 1992, released her debut novel, Hideous Kinky, which was made into a film starring Kate Winslet in 1998. Freud’s work has been translated into 13 languages, and her 10th adult novel, My Sister and Other Lovers, is out in paperback. She has three children with the actor David Morrissey, and lives between Suffolk and London with her current partner.What is your greatest fear?

Decline.What is your earliest memory?

Making Fanta with seawater and sand on the beach at Formentera with my sister Bella.What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

I can always see two points of view, which makes it hard to have a row.What is the trait you most deplore in others?

An inability to see the other side.What was your most embarrassing moment?