Edwina always enjoyed a morning ride. Some mornings she rode the horse, and some mornings she rode the groom.

Priceless things matter not for their value, but because they offer us an enduring reminder of stability and permanence.

I will never stop writing. People often ask when I will retire, but I say it's none of their business. Writing defines who I am. I love the feeling of holding a finished book in my hands, and then I can't wait to start the great adventure of writing the next one.

If anyone asks me whether I like being a popular writer, I ask them whether they think I'd rather be an unpopular writer.

Elizabeth studied the blurry tabloid photo, which showed her cousin Mary Stuart leaving a Paris disco at dawn, drunkenly clinging to the arm of a French tennis pro. The message was very clear. Put passion first and you end up neither loved nor respected.

We are each the authors of our own lives, Emma. We live in what we have created. There is no way to shift the blame and no one else to accept the accolades.

I am a huge admirer of Elizabeth I, and this intriguing biography gives a wonderful picture of the era.