5 Quotes by Iris Origo

Behind each biography there should always be a rich treasury of unformulated knowledge, a tapestry that has not been unrolled.

We are being governed by the dregs of the nation – and their brutality is so capricious that no one can feel certain that he will be safe tomorrow.

The biographer’s real business – if it is not too arrogant to say so – is simply this: to bring the dead to life.

These – the shared, simple acts of everyday life – are the realities on which international understanding can be built.

I do not think that one is likely to write a good biography unless one feels some sympathy with its subject...