The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked working for others and they seemed to resent taking orders. On the whole, directors were treated absurdly well, and workers badly, and most industries were weakened by class suspicion and false economies and cynicism. But the same qualities that made English people seem stubborn and secretive made them, face to face, reliable and true to their word. I thought: The English do small things well and big things badly.

There has to be a measure of difficulty or problem-solving in travel for it to be worthwhile.

...a society without jaywalkers might indicate a society without artists.

There's a lot of sensuality that I associate with travel. And that's romance.

He regarded himself as an accomplished writer — a clear sign of madness in anyone.

I think that love isn't what you think it is when you're in your twenties or even thirties.

... the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home.