[Margaret Thatcher] admitted to being the daughter of her father but not the daughter of her mother!

Over the city lies the sweet, rotting odor of yesterday's unrecollected sins.

It is better not to try people, not to force them to desperation. Make them prosper; out of superfluidity, they will be generous. Full bellies breed gentle manners. The pinch of famine makes monsters.

There is so much else in the world that is more interesting [ than monarchy].

When people begin to talk about "our island story" my hackles rise. It is deluded and conservative.

I am very happy in second-hand bookshops; would a gardener not be happy in a garden?

I've got so many ideas, and sometimes the more exhausted my body gets, the more active my mind gets.