I read very little contemporary anything.

Once you have your characters, they tell you what to write, you don't tell them.

You write a lot of books; you hope you get better.

I don't inflict horrors on readers.

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.

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

I read very little contemporary anything.