...you know what the critics are. If you tell the truth they only say you're cynical and it does an author no… — William Somerset Maugham

It's very hard to be a gentleman and a writer.

It's no good trying to keep up old friendships. It's painful for both sides. The fact is, one grows out of people, and the only thing is to face it.

Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all.