Anita Brookner

Anita Brookner
Anita Brookner, CBEwas a British award-winning novelist and art historian. She was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge from 1967 to 1968 and was the first woman to hold this visiting professorship. She was awarded the 1984 Man Booker Prize for her novel Hotel du Lac...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionHistorian
Date of Birth16 July 1938
writing despair
Writing has freed me from the despair of living.
past times-past age
I am 46, and have been for some time past.
thinking language feels
I think you always feel braver in another language.
husband self important
I was brought up among the sort of self-important women who had a husband as one has an alibi.
way break company
When you make a break for freedom you don't necessarily find company on the way.
betrayal people sunbeams
You can never betray the people who are dead.
selfish ideas decision
You have no idea how promising the world begins to look once you have decided to have it all for yourself. And how much healthier your decisions are once they become entirely selfish.
understanding
And without understanding, could each properly love the other?
art self interesting
What is interesting about self-analysis is that it leads nowhere - it is an art form in itself.
women simple thinking
Like many rich men, he thought in anecdotes; like many simple women, she thought in terms of biography.
new-ventures games unfinished-business
Life... is not simply a series of exciting new ventures. The future is not always a whole new ball game. There tends to be unfinished business. One trails all sorts of things around with one, things that simply won't be got rid of.
truth doe blame
No blame should attach to telling the truth. But it does, it does.
writing attention innocence
Writing novels preserves you in a state of innocence - a lot passes you by - simply because your attention is otherwise diverted.
winning favors ancient
All good fortune is a gift of the gods, and you don't win the favor of the ancient gods by being good, but by being bold.