There was a very serious communist strain among American intellectuals before the war. America was a more tolerant place in those days, and Communists were not treated as pariahs. That ended with the McCarthy era.

She wanted to say 'I love you like a thunderstorm, like a lion, like a helpless rage'.

You see, all that I ever held dear has been taken from me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And when you've lost everything-" Her facade began to crumble, and her voice broke, but she made herself carry on. "When you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose.

Proportion is the heart of beauty.

Thrillers have been traditionally very masculine books; the women characters often rather decorative.

For success, the author must make the reader care about the destiny of the principals, and sustain this anxiety, or suspense, for about 100,000 words.

When you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose.