128 Quotes by P. D. James

What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give.

We English are good at forgiving our enemies; it releases us from the obligation of liking our friends.

Daniel supposed he had a secret life. Most people did; it was hardly possible to live without one.

There comes a time when every scientist, even God, has to write off an experiment.

Time didn't heal, but it anesthetized. The human mind could only feel so much.

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.

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.

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.

We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.