My great fear has always been complete and utter failure. Hence, you see, all the dispossessed people in my fiction, and why I try to earn as much money as I can. It's a defense. I don't enjoy it or do anything with it. Peter Ackroyd completedefensedispossess share on social
Murderers will try to recall the sequence of events, they will remember exactly what they did just before and just after. But they can never remember the actual moment of killing. This is why they will always leave a clue. Peter Ackroyd actualclueevent share on social
In London, I've always lived within 10 miles of where I was born. You see, there is something called a spirit of place, and my place happens to be London, at least once a fortnight. Peter Ackroyd bearcallfortnight Change image and share on social
None of my books has been ever in my head; after they're finished, they go. It's like being a sort of medium; you just grab it when it's there then just release it when it's time to go. There's a lot of instinct, not planning. Peter Ackroyd bookfinishgrab share on social
I don't believe necessarily the past is in the past. It's eternal, it's all around us. Peter Ackroyd eternalnecessarilypast Change image and share on social
Familial love can find an echo in our own hearts just as it did in that of Charles Dickens. Peter Ackroyd charledickenecho Change image and share on social
London has always provided the landscape for my imagination. It becomes a character - a living being - within each of my books. Peter Ackroyd bookcharacterimagination Change image and share on social
I strike up conversations all the time and it is very interesting, finding out about things I know nothing about. Peter Ackroyd conversationfindinterest Change image and share on social
All cities are impressive in their way, because they represent the aspiration of men to lead a common life; those people who wish to live agreeable lives, and in constant intercourse with one another, will build a city as beautiful as Paris. Peter Ackroyd agreeableaspirationbeautiful share on social
Thomas More's birth was noted by his father upon a blank page at the back of a copy of Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'Historia Regum Britanniae'; for a lawyer John More was remarkably inexact in his references to that natal year, and the date has been moved from 1477 to 1478 and back again. Peter Ackroyd backbirthblank share on social