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

Some women attract desire. Others do not.

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

the bird sings as if to say that delight is easy, for those who desire it

He may well speak French and Latin and half a dozen languages, but since he has nothing to say – what good are they?

I have given my word that only death will take me from you.

Only fools wait when their enemies are coming, to see if they may prove to be friends.