P. D. James quotes - page 2

I'm not a tyrant, but I can't afford to be merciful. Whatever it is necessary to do, I will do it. (P. D. James)
Darling, you can't promise that...but I like to hear you say it. View quote
P. D. James
Every novelist write what he or she needs to write, a subconscious compulsion to express and explain his unique view of reality. View quote
P. D. James
Perhaps His experiment went spectacularly wrong, sir. Perhaps He's just baffled. Seeing the mess, not knowing how to put it right. Perhaps not wanting to put it right. Perhaps He only had enough power left for one final intervention. So He made it. Whoever He is, whatever He is, I hope he burns in His own Hell. View quote
P. D. James
The intention of any novelist must surely be to make that straight avenue to the human heart. View quote
P. D. James
I didn't love him, but I liked him being in love with me. View quote
P. D. James
Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell. View quote
P. D. James
Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other ­people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted. View quote
P. D. James
It's easy to get a reputation for wisdom. It's only necessary to live long, speak little and do less. View quote
P. D. James
Charm is often despised but I can never see why. No one has it who isn't capable of genuinely liking others, at least at the actual moment of meeting and speaking. Charm is always genuine; it may be superficial but it isn't false. View quote
P. D. James
If our sex life were determined by our first youthful experiments, most of the world would be doomed to celibacy. In no area of human experience are human beings more convinced that something better can be had only if they persevere. (P. D. James)
There are few couples as unhappy as those who are too proud to admit their unhappiness. View quote
P. D. James
I wonder if childhood is ever really happy. Just as well, perhaps. To be blissfully happy so young would leave one always seeking to recapture the unobtainable. Like those people who were always happiest at school or university. Always going back. No reunion ever missed. It always seemed to me rather pathetic. View quote
P. D. James
Perhaps it's only when people are dead that we can safely show how much we cared about them. We know that it's too late then for them to do anything about it. View quote
P. D. James
All fiction is largely autobiographical and much autobiography is, of course, fiction. View quote
P. D. James
The equally is a political theory, but no a practical politics. View quote
P. D. James
There comes a time when every scientist, even God, has to write off an experiment. View quote
P. D. James
In 1930s mysteries, all sorts of motives were credible which aren't credible today, especially motives of preventing guilty sexual secrets from coming out. Nowadays, people sell their guilty sexual secrets. View quote
P. D. James
There were moments, usually on a sunny Easter morning, when she wished that she could with sincerity call herself a Christian; but for the rest of the year she knew herself to be what she was - incurably agnostic but prone to unpredictable relapses into faith. View quote
P. D. James
It's possible to fight intolerance, stupidity and fanaticism when they come separately. When you get all three together it's probably wiser to get out, if only to preserve your sanity. View quote
P. D. James
It is always easy to question the judgement of others in matters of which we may be imperfectly informed. (P. D. James)
It shows considerable wisdom to know what you want in life and then to direct all your energies towards getting it. View quote
P. D. James
Not so much two ships passing in the night as two ships sailing together for a time but always bound for different ports. View quote
P. D. James
Authors always take rejection badly. They equate it with infanticide. View quote
P. D. James
The world is changed not by the self-regarding, but by men and women prepared to make fools of themselves. View quote
P. D. James