It's possible to fight intolerance, stupidity and fanaticism when they come separately. When you get all three together it's probably wiser to get out, if only to preserve your sanity.

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.

I knew the facts of death before I knew the facts of life. There never was a time when I didn't see the skull beneath the skin.

In 1930s mysteries, all sorts of motives were credible which aren't credible today, especially motives of preventing guilty sexual secrets from coming out. Nowadays, people sell their guilty sexual secrets.

What was so terrible about grief was not grief itself, but that one got over it.

When I heard, Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, I thought, Did he fall or was he pushed?

It's easy to get a reputation for wisdom. It's only necessary to live long, speak little and do less.