Charm is the ability to make someone else think that both of you are pretty wonderful.

It was a woman's bedroom, actually a boudoir, and no man belonged in it except by invitation.

Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do.

The king appeared... with his dogs and sycophants behind him.

The only genius that's worth anything is the genius for hard work.

I love dogs, horses and generally all animals.

I love time with family and friends, but completely relish time on my own when I have no agenda to follow, no to-do's, just me and time alone.

We talk about globalization today as if it's some great big new thing, that we've all just discovered. But there's really nothing new about it.

Also the clothing, people often ask why I talk about what characters are wearing. And that's really important to me, because you have to have a picture of how people moved in their clothes.

I'm a storyteller; that is what I do. And I'm particularly interested in history; and in history of a certain era. But what is interesting for me is how many, how many things you see repeated.

It's really important in any historical fiction, I think, to anchor the story in its time. And you do that by weaving in those details, by, believe it or not, by the plumbing.

My favorite way to unwind is to go for a walk with my husband and the dog at the end of the working day, then we go to our local health club for a swim and to sit by the pool and read for a while.

My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to get myself a job where I could travel. I did it for two years and had great fun.