When People Begin To Talk

When I Came To Write My Thomas Cromwell Books, I Moved Onto The Center Ground Of English History, But I Was Never There Before. I Didn't Feel It Was My History Particularly, Coming From Northern Britain, Being Of Irish Extraction, Being A Cradle Catholic. The Image Of England I Grew Up With Felt Somewhere Else. There Was An Official England In Postcards, But It Wasn't One I Had Visited. But I Decided To March Onto The Center Ground And Occupy It Whether It Was Mine Or Not.

The More Facts I Can Have, The Better. I Can Operate Very Nicely Between Them, But I Am Not Very Good At Making Things Up. I Am Not Sure How Ethical It Is.

[t]he Heart Is Like Any Other Organ, You Can Weigh It On A Scale.

Hindsight Is The Historian's Necessary Vice.

If You Get Stuck, Get Away From Your Desk. Take A Walk, Take A Bath, Go To Sleep, Make A Pie, Draw, Listen To Music, Meditate, Exercise; Whatever You Do, Don't Just Stick There Scowling At The Problem. But Don't Make Telephone Calls Or Go To A Party; If You Do, Other People's Words Will Pour In Where Your Lost Words Should Be.