I've always disliked words like inspiration. Writing is probably like a scientist thinking about some scientific problem, or an engineer about an engineering problem.

The worst superstition is to consider our own tolerable.

I never thought of London in terms of possible heroes - of course, there are thousands. It's a very talented city.

Capable people do not understand incapacity; clever people do not understand stupidity.

That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.

What the feminists want of me is something they haven't examined because it comes from religion. They want me to bear witness.

When young I did my best to undo that bit of the British Empire I found myself in: that is, old Southern Rhodesia.