Health, money. That's what people worried about in the 14th century as much as today. I find it so much more interesting than the supposed activities of kings, queens, generals. Peter Ackroyd More Quotes by Peter Ackroyd More Quotes From Peter Ackroyd There are so many characters whizzing around inside my head, it's like Looney Tunes. But as soon as I've finished writing about them, I completely forget who they are. Peter Ackroyd tuneswritingcharacter The 16th-century theatre witnessed the particularly English manifestation of 'the history play.' There can be no doubt that Shakespeare's presentations of 'Henry V' and 'Richard III' have been incalculably more influential than any more sober historical study. Peter Ackroyd historicaldoubtplay As a Londoner I was able to see how the world of power and money cast its shadow on those who failed. Peter Ackroyd shadowableworld Yet, like the sea and the gallows, London refuses nobody. Peter Ackroyd gallowslondonsea I am in the Pitte, but I have gone so deep that I can see the brightness of the Starres at Noon. Peter Ackroyd noonbrightnessgone There are certain people who seem doomed to buy certain houses. The house expects them. It waits for them. Peter Ackroyd waitinghousepeople To watch King Lear is to approach the recognition that there is indeed no meaning in life, and that there are limits to human understanding. Peter Ackroyd understandingkingswatches All cities are impressive in their way, because they represent the aspiration of men to lead a common life; those people who wish to live agreeable lives, and in constant intercourse with one another, will build a city as beautiful as Paris. Peter Ackroyd parisbeautifulmen I don't find myself interesting as a person and the details I find boring, quite frankly. You could sum it up in a few words or sentences really: came from nothing. Self-educated. Luck. Energy. Curiosity. Ambition. That's it. Nothing at all can illuminate the work as far as I can tell. Peter Ackroyd ambitionselfinteresting No poet is ever completely lost. He has the secret of his childhood safe with him, like some secret cave in which he can kneel. And, when we read his poetry, we can join him there. Peter Ackroyd childhoodcavessecret Murderers will try to recall the sequence of events, they will remember exactly what they did just before and just after. But they can never remember the actual moment of killing. This is why they will always leave a clue. Peter Ackroyd eventsremembertrying The English have always been greedy for news of times past, with that mixture of fatalism and melancholy which is part of the national character. Peter Ackroyd newscharacterpast People are much more interesting than people realise. Peter Ackroyd realisingpeopleinteresting None of my books has been ever in my head; after they're finished, they go. It's like being a sort of medium; you just grab it when it's there then just release it when it's time to go. There's a lot of instinct, not planning. Peter Ackroyd instinctplanningbook Oh, I just tend to believe in things when I'm writing them. For instance, when I was writing 'Doctor Dee,' I believed in magic. And when I wrote 'Hawksmoor' I believed in psychic geography. But as soon as I type the last full stop, I'm back to being a complete blank again. Peter Ackroyd psychicswritingbelieve Freud was just a novelist. Peter Ackroyd novelists His head was boiled, impaled upon a pole and raised above London Bridge. So ended the life of Thomas More, one of the few Londoners upon whom sainthood has been conferred and the first English layman to be beatified as a martyr. Peter Ackroyd bridgeenglishlondonlife Thomas More rarely discussed his siblings, and two of them are never mentioned by him. It is likely that they were part of that infant mortality which had provoked such concern for early baptism. Peter Ackroyd moreneverearlytwo
