I am in the interesting position of being sometimes skimmed by the critics and called literature and sometimes called historical fiction.

Sometimes you cannot help what you hear, you cannot help what you see.

Yes, but either way, shamed or not, I shall be Queen of England, and this is the last time you will sit in my presence.

When a woman thinks her husband is a fool, her marriage is over. They may part in one year or ten; they may live together until death. But if she thinks he is a fool, she will not love him again.

I have seen sights and travelled in countries you cannot imagine. I have been afraid and I have been in danger, and I have never for one moment thought that I would throw myself at at a man for his help.

One’s lover is one’s partner in observing and understanding the world. Marriage is a place where joint narratives are composed. If the lover is a liar then all your joint observations are unreliable. You will have to start all over again.

I have learned the power of surviving.