Claire Tomalin

Today's children have very short attention spans because they are being reared on dreadful television programmes which are flickering away in the corner. ”

When dealing with a subject who is dead, you have this feeling of being God. You know who they're going to marry, when they're going to die. It's strange to feel so omniscient. ”

Writers don't make good spouses. When I am writing, I'm not a good wife. I shut myself away, and all my emotions are directed towards what I'm trying to write. ”

As he approached his 28th birthday in February 1840, Dickens knew himself to be famous, successful and tired. He needed a rest, and he made up his mind to keep the year free of the pressure of producing monthly installments of yet another long novel. ”

I think it's about as likely Jane Austen was gay as that she was found out to be a man. ”

When I kept a diary, I realised that it was all moanings and depression, and I think that is quite common. ”

When you live with Dickens for years, reading him and trying to present him as faithfully as you can, you can't fail to love the man - so the shock of his bad behaviour is considerable, even when you know it is coming. ”

The thing I love about Rome is that is has so many layers. In it, you can follow anything that interests you: town planning, architecture, churches or culture. It's a city rich in antiquity and early Christian treasures, and just endlessly fascinating. There's nowhere else like it. ”

I fell in love with Shakespeare when I was 12, and I read the whole works. Yes, I was precocious. ”

It's an odd situation: I could not write about someone for whom I felt no affection or admiration. ”