R. B. Sheridan Quotes

Our ancestors are very good kind of folks; but they are the last people I should choose to have a visiting acquaintance with.

Many a wretch has rid on a hurdle who has done less mischief than utterers of forged tales, coiners of scandal, and clippers of reputation.

My valour is certainly going! - it is sneaking off! - I feel it oozing out as it were at the palms of my hands!

If it is abuse, - why one is always sure to hear of it from one damned goodnatured friend or another!

Fame, the sovereign deity of proud ambition.

The newspapers! Sir, they are the most villainous - licentious -abominable - infernal - Not that I ever read them - No - I make it a rule never to look into a newspaper.

A fluent tongue is the only thing a mother don't like her daughter to resemble her in.

Believe that story false that ought not to be true.

In all cases of slander currency, whenever the forger of the lie is not to be found, the injured parties should have a right to come on any of the indorsers.

I own the soft impeachment.

There needs no small degree of address to gain the reputation of benevolence without incurring the expense.

I hate to see prudence clinging to the green suckers of youth; 'tis like ivy round a sapling, and spoils the growth of the tree.

They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.

but curiosity is a restless and scrupulous passion, and no one girl can endure, with patience, that hers should be baffled by another.

Everyone's a different person when they're younger. You evolve as a human being with knowledge and attitude and challenges and obstacles in life.

But I had promised my husband never to accept another engagement. It was not a very happy time for me.

I really fancy Eddie Redmayne. I wouldn't mind a few steamy scenes with him.

I'm such a weirdo. I'm animal-mad, so my ideal date would probably be something involving going to see animals.

I prefer theatre to television - you get to feel the love.

Prudence, like experience, must be paid for.

Satires and lampoons on particular people circulate more by giving copies in confidence to the friends of the parties, than by printing them.

If I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!

I'd rather be number one on the worst-dressed list than number two on the best.

Fatty, a bearded collie-terrier mix, is the kindest, cuddliest dog. And Oliver, a white golden retriever, even looks like me! My dogs have taught me to be more loving, more nurturing, and happier.

Our memories are independent of our wills.

Drama is something Im good at, I guess.

Ask yourself constantly "Am I treating my fellow citizens as I treat my mum?"

When you're hiding behind a character all the time, as soon as you have to be yourself, you feel kind of terrified.

I did say I don't feel as worthy as so many of the recipients ... He said he'd seen some of my work, which is amazing, and was a fan of Gavin and Stacey.

Easy writings curse is hard reading.

If you're gonna wait for the universe to start making sense, you have a long wait ahead of you.

Research material can turn up anywhere - in a dusty old letter in an archive, a journal or some old photographs you find in a charity shop.

There 's nothing like being used to a thing.

I find it inspiring to actively choose which traditions to celebrate and also come up with new ideas for traditions of my own.

Sometimes I create a character from a scrap - a mere mention that has been left behind.

Researching books gets you into nothing but trouble.

At the end of the day, that's what a family is - a group of different people who accept each other.

For a novelist, the gaps in a story are as intriguing as material that still exists.

I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any kind of writing - as long as the writing is good.

Writing about the 1950s has given me tremendous respect for my mother's generation.

I've always had a keen sense of history. My father was an antiques dealer and he used to bring home boxes full of treasures, and each item always had a tale attached.

History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.

Remember, a book is always a gift.

It may take a village to raise a baby, but hell! it takes an army to produce a book.

Copywriters, journalists, mainstream authors, ghostwriters, bloggers and advertising creatives have as much right to think of themselves as good writers as academics, poets, or literary novelists.

I'm a library user and I just don't hoard books. To me, they're for sharing.

The net has provided a level playing field for criticism and comment - anyone and everyone is entitled to their opinion - and that is one of its greatest strengths.

Books exist for me not as physical entities with pages and binding, but in the province of my mind.

If we don't value the people who inspire us (and money is one mark of that) then what kind of culture are we building?

We can learn so much looking outside our core field of expertise.