The wisest fool in Christendom.

The wisest among us is a fool in some things.

— Samuel Richardson

The praise of a fool is incense to the wisest of us . . .

— Benjamin Disraeli

No medieval monarch in the whole of British history ever had such power as every modern British Prime Minister has in his or her…

— Tony Benn

“Gower is the first English writer to use "history" as an English word. He regularly rhymes the term with "memory," for to his way…

— Russell A. Peck

When a Man is tried of London, he is tired of life.

— Samuel Johnson

In the end, history, especially British history with its succession of thrilling illuminations, should be, as all her most accomplished narrators have promised, not…

— Simon Schama

Lord Beaverbrook was fundamentally a lonely man, with a low sense of his own self-worth, who was incapable of forming a stable, loving relationship…

— David Cannadine

If there is a single trait in our character that has historically set us apart from other nations, it is our determination to limit…

— Billy Bragg

“The period of which I write was an overshadowed one in British history, and especially in the history of the northern provinces. War was…

— Charlotte Brontë

Virtually every war fought since the Act of Union had gone badly at some stage, but before 1783 none had ended in defeat. Nor…

— Linda Colley

Compare the scale and magnifcence of Versailles with St James's - the brick-built hovel in which the 18th-century kings of England lived. What was…

— David Starkey

In Great Britain, woman was subordinate and confined. But at least she was also safe.

— Linda Colley

Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…

— David Cannadine

Taxation, the very thing that had triggered the British civil wars, would do so again, this time in America. The taxes may have been…

— Simon Schama

We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…

— Gordon Brown