Although some people think I am a romantic novelist I have always thought of myself as a rather gritty radical historian.

War does not answer war, war does not finish war. The only ending is peace.

When you pray, you know that you want something, that's always the first step. to let yourself know that you want something, that you yearn for it. sometimes that's the hardest thing to do. Because you have to have courage to know what you desire. You have to have courage to acknowledge that you are unhappy without it.

I love going to London for a couple of days but I need to be in the country. I like the silence, the smell and the seasonal changes, especially in spring and summer. I really feel that I belong there.

It is not love that matters, Mistress Boy, it is what you choose to do with it. What’d you choose to do with yours?

You have to choose the best, every day, without compromise...guided by your own virtue and highest ambition

You can smile when your heart is breaking because you are a woman, and a courtier, and a Howard. That's three reasons for being the most deceitful creature on God's earth.