My mother was a woman who was very frustrated. She had a great deal of ability, and all this energy went into me and my brother.

...or like an old friend one has known too well and doesn't want to see.

We've got to believe in our beautiful impossible blueprints.

I've won all the prizes in Europe, every bloody one. I'm delighted to win them all, the whole lot.

With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one - but no one at all - can tell you what to read and when and how.

All one's life as a young woman one is on show, a focus of attention, people notice you. You set yourself up to being noticed and admired. And then, not expecting it, you become middle-aged and anonymous.

The Nobel Prize is run by a self-perpetuated committee. They vote for themselves and get the world's publishing industry to jump to their tune.