Everyone who is not happy must be shot.

Every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic.

During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.

I think bankers will always get away with whatever they can get away with.

I'm really a library man, or second-hand book man.

When a problem threatens to engulf you, there's nothing like irrelevant detail to keep your head above water.

I taught principally German language and literature at Eton. But any master with private pupils must be prepared to teach anything they ask for. That can be as diverse as the early paintings of Salvador Dali or how bumblebees manage to fly.