Lord Mountbatten

My mother said, Don't worry abot what people think now. Think about whether your children and grandchildren will think you've done well.

Even that crazy lunatic, my aunt the Empress, wa absolutely sweet and charming.

What do you do if you are asked to do a job, first by the Prime Minister, and then by the King? How can you refuse?

I have no neighbours other than animals and Joshua Trees.

The most dazzling aspect of 'Possession' is Ms. Byatt's canny invention of letters, poems and diaries from the 19th century.

It's terribly important that you can criticise people's ideas without criticising them, and if they burst into tears, it means that you tend to hold back from getting at the absolute truth.