C. S. Forester quotes

C. S. Forester was an English novelist and screenwriter, renowned for his naval warfare stories. His most famous work is the Horatio Hornblower series, set during the Napoleonic Wars. He shaped historical fiction and inspired generations of readers and writers. Here are 17 of his quotes:

"I did not ask for objections, but for comments, or helpful suggestions. I looked for more loyalty from you, Captain Hornblower." That made the whole argument pointless. If Leighton only wanted servile agreement there was no sense in continuing. (C. S. Forester)

When a man who is drinking neat gin starts talking about his mother he is past all argument.

C. S. Forester

The lucky man is he who knows how much to leave to chance.

C. S. Forester

Novel writing is far and away the most exhausting work I know.

C. S. Forester

I formed a resolution to never write a word I did not want to write; to think only of my own tastes and ideals, without a thought of those of editors or publishers.

C. S. Forester

Perhaps that suspicion of fraud enhances the flavor.

C. S. Forester

Everything was in stark and dreadful contrast with the trivial crises and counterfeit emotions of Hollywood, and I returned to England deeply moved and emotionally worn out.

C. S. Forester

A man who writes for a living does not have to go anywhere in particular, and he could rarely afford to if he wanted.

C. S. Forester

When I die there may be a paragraph or two in the newspapers. My name will linger in the British Museum Reading Room catalogue for a space at the head of a long list of books for which no one will ever ask.

C. S. Forester

The work is with me when I wake up in the morning; it is with me while I eat my breakfast in bed and run through the newspaper, while I shave and bathe and dress.

C. S. Forester

There is no other way of writing a novel than to begin at the beginning at to continue to the end. (C. S. Forester)

Novel writing wrecks homes.

C. S. Forester

I must be like the princess who felt the pea through seven mattresses; each book is a pea.

C. S. Forester

I have heard of novels started in the middle, at the end, written in patches to be joined together later, but I have never felt the slightest desire to do this.

C. S. Forester

A whim, a passing mood, readily induces the novelist to move hearth and home elsewhere. He can always plead work as an excuse to get him out of the clutches of bothersome hosts.

C. S. Forester

The material came bubbling up inside like a geyser or an oil gusher. It streamed up of its own accord, down my arm and out of my fountain pen in a torrent of six thousand words a day.

C. S. Forester

I did not ask for objections, but for comments, or helpful suggestions. I looked for more loyalty from you, Captain Hornblower.

C. S. Forester

C. S. Forester

Occupation: British Novelist
Born: August 27, 1899
Died: April 2, 1966
Quotes count: 17
Wikipedia: C. S. Forester

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