Politicians were like talking dogs in a circus: the fact that they existed was uncommonly interesting, but no sane person would actually believe what they said
My novels are about the European reality, not about chases. You want chases, get somebody else's books.
You can't make accommodations in crucial situations and be heroic.
I don't inflict horrors on readers.
You write a lot of books; you hope you get better.
And, with much of Europe occupied by Nazi Germany, and Mussolini's armies in Albania, on the Greek frontier, one wasn't sure what came next. So, don't trust the telephone. Or the newspapers. Or the radio. Or tomorrow.