biography is essentially a collaborative art, the latest biographer collaborating with all those who wrote earlier.

tis true that tho' People can transcend their Characters in Times of Tranquillity, they can ne'er do so in Times of Tumult.

Any system was a straightjacket if you insisted on adhering to it so totally and humorlessly.

I don't necessarily read everything. I read what I need to read to inspire the book I'm trying to finish.

Pregnancy seemed like a tremendous abdication of control. Something growing inside you which would eventually usurp your life.

It's horrible getting older. I mean, it's wonderful because you see the circles of life get completed. But it's horrible losing your looks.

If, every day, I dare to remember that I am here on loan, that this house, this hillside, these minutes are all leased to me, not given, I will never despair.