“ Surely the greatest mercy granted us by Providence is our ignorance of the future. Imagine if we knew the outcome of our hopes and plans, or could see the manner in which we are doomed to die - how ru… Robert Harris
“ This was the problem with drinks parties: getting stuck with a person you didn't want to talk to while someone you did was tantalisingly in view. Robert Harris
“ A ghost who has only a lay knowledge of the subject will be able to keep asking the same questions as the lay reader, and will therefore open up the potential readership of the book to a much wider au… Robert Harris
“ If one tries to think about history, it seems to me - it's like looking at a range of mountains. And the first time you see them, they look one way. But then time changes, the pattern of light shifts.… Robert Harris
“ It has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the mediocre... Robert Harris
“ Having the urge to write a novel, especially if you've yet to be published, is like having a medical condition impossible to mention in polite company - it's a relief simply to know there are fellow-s… Robert Harris
“ But clever people all make one mistake. They all think everyone else is stupid. And everyone isn't stupid. They just take a bit more time, that's all. Robert Harris
“ Cicero smiled at us. 'The art of life is to deal with problems as they arise, rather than destory one's spirit by worrying about them too far in advance. Especially tonight. Robert Harris
“ It implies a slight failure as a writer that you are reduced to being a ghostwriter for the money. Robert Harris
“ Right, you see that girl over there, the one in that group that keeps looking right at you?'...'Right, let's say I'm convinced she's wearing black knickers - she looks like a black knickers kind of ga… Robert Harris
“ Down in the cellar the Gestapo were licensed to practice was the Ministry of Justice called ‘heightened interrogation’. The rules had been drawn up by civilised men in warm offices and they stipulated… Robert Harris
“ I am sure future historians will say the biggest and most astonishing change in politics has been the embracing of all the tenets of Thatcherism by the party of Keir Hardie: trade union legislation, E… Robert Harris
“ We live in an age of great jitteriness in the financial markets. And there's no doubt at all, I think, that the volume of computer-traded stocks has helped contribute to that. Robert Harris
“ You can always spot a fool, for he is a man who will tell you he knows who is going to win an election. Robert Harris
