She is very plain. What does Henry see in her?'" "He thinks she's stupid. He finds it restful.

Truth can break the gates down, truth can howl in the street; unless truth is pleasing, personable and easy to like, she is condemned to stay whimpering at the back door.

It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.

Every leader operates under the threat of assassination.

You learn nothing about men by snubbing them and crushing their pride. You must ask them what it is they can do in this world, that they alone can do.

To my astonishment, when Wolf Hall came out, people asked if I made it up - [Thomas More] burning of heretics. It was well documented. And he was proud of it! The Brits love lost causes.

The worship of Thomas More goes beyond Catholics.