[On writing biography:] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial and so profound, that any attempt to present it as a unified, consistent whole, to enclose it within… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
while it is certainly the biographer's business to describe the foibles, passions and idiosyncrasies which make his subject a person, his work will be very meagre if these individual traits are not also seen as part of a universal drama… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
Just as, in travel, one may miss seeing the sunset because one cannot find the ticket-office or is afraid of missing the train, so… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
I write because, exacting as it may be to do so, it is still more difficult to refrain, and because - however conscious of… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
I believe that every life , irrespective of its events and setting, holds something of unique value, which it should be possible to communicate,… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
[On writing biography:] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial and so… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
Behind each biography there should always be a rich treasury of unformulated knowledge, a tapestry that has not been unrolled. — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
We are being governed by the dregs of the nation - and their brutality is so capricious that no one can feel certain that… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
whereas in childhood ... it was the parents' judgement that mattered to the child, later on the situation becomes reversed: it is then that… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
while it is certainly the biographer's business to describe the foibles, passions and idiosyncrasies which make his subject a person, his work will be… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
I do not think that one is likely to write a good biography unless one feels some sympathy with its subject. — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
I believe, not theoretically, but from direct personal experience, that very few of the things that happen to us are purposeless or accidental (and… — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
The biographer's real business - if it is not too arrogant to say so - is simply this: to bring the dead to life. — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
[On writing biography:] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him. — Iris Origo Copy Share Image
![“[On writing biography:] ... every human life is at once so complex and so simple, so perplexing and so clear, so superficial and so profound, that any attempt to present it as a unified, consistent whole, to enclose it within a rigid frame, inevitably tempts one to cheat or to falsify.” quote by Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0c4/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-every-human-life-is_778442.jpg)
![“[On writing biography:] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him.” quote by Iris Origo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8a6/iris-origo-37752_biographies_on-writing-biography-if-you-wish-to-see_3015501.jpg)