Perfect love may cast our fear, but fear is remarkably potent in casting out love.

Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other ­people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.

Childhood is the one prison from which there's no escape, the one sentence from which there's no appeal. We all serve our time.

Not so much two ships passing in the night as two ships sailing together for a time but always bound for different ports.

Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more ­effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.

Daniel supposed he had a secret life. Most people did; it was hardly possible to live without one.

First-class travel, provided one hasn't to pay for it oneself, is the most insidiously addictive of life's luxuries.