Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, O’er a plan to venge myself upon that cursed Thursday Next- This Eyre affair, so surprising, gives my soul such loath despising, Here I plot my temper rising, rising from my jail of text. “Get me out!” I said, advising, “Pluck me from this jail of text- or I swear I’ll wring your neck!

Marriage is an honorable estate and should not be used simply as an excuse for legal intercourse.

Whenever I'm giving talks, I always ask people to think of the most obscure questions because I enjoy those the most. I always get the same questions: Why does Pickwick say "plock" and will there be a movie? I like the really obscure questions because there's so much in the books. There are tons and tons of references and I like when people get the little ones and ask me about them. It's good for the audience [and also] they realize there's more there.

I've got six months to sort out the hackers, get the Japanese knotweed under control and find an acceptable form of narcissus.

True and baseless evil is as rare as the purest good - and we all know how rare that is.

It took me ten years and seven books to bag an agent - it took me that long to start writing good.