If my books had been any worse, I should not have been invited to Hollywood, and if they had been any better, I should not have come.

I don't mind your showing me your legs. They're very swell legs and it's a pleasure to make their acquaintance. I don't mind if you don't like my manners. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings. But don't waste your time trying to cross-examine me.

One would think a writer would be happy here — if a writer is ever happy anywhere.

All reading for pleasure is entertainment.

There are people who can write their memoirs with a reasonable amount of honesty, and there are people who simply cannot take themselves seriously enough. I think I might be the first to admit that the sort of reticence which prevents a man from exploiting his own personality is really an inverted sort of egotism.

The dilemma of the critic has always been that if he knows enough to speak with authority, he knows too much to speak with detachment.

I sat down on the edge of a deep soft chair and looked at Mrs Regan. She was worth a stare. She was trouble.