--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a man wants to write a book full of…" description: "\"When a man wants to write a book full of unassailable facts, he always goes to the British Museum.\" — Anthony Trollope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/anthony-trollope-611_book_when-a-man-wants-to-write-a-book-full-of_607000.jpg" --- # When a man wants to write a book full of unassailable… ![“When a man wants to write a book full of unassailable facts, he always goes to the British Museum.” quote by Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/anthony-trollope-611_book_when-a-man-wants-to-write-a-book-full-of_607000.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/anthony-trollope-611_book_when-a-man-wants-to-write-a-book-full-of_607000.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/anthony-trollope-611_book_when-a-man-wants-to-write-a-book-full-of_607000.jpg) > “When a man wants to write a book full of unassailable facts, he always goes to the British Museum.” [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeking absolute certainty leads to reliance on established institutions rather than original thought. **In simple terms:** Facts can be limiting. Key Takeaway Question assumptions, seek diverse sources. Themes knowledge authority creativity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - writing - academic work Key Concepts epistemology originality Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance facts with imagination? - What sources challenge mainstream narratives? A Different Perspective Relying solely on institutions may stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Unassailable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-unassailable-4937193/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [British museum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-museum/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Man Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-wants/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museums/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Unassailable Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unassailable-facts-4937192/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wants Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-write-291705/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The biggest looters are the British Museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowkey/the-biggest-looters-are-the-british-museum/) [Lowkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lowkey/) > [To look at and properly appreciate the British Museum is the work of a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-w-sherwood/to-look-at-and-properly-appreciate-the-british-museum-is-the-work-of/) [M. E. W. Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-w-sherwood/) > [I guess it started in London, the night our dad blew up the British museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-guess-it-started-in-london-the-night-our-dad-blew-up-the-british/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Evolution writ large is the belief that a cloud of hydrogen will spontaneously invent extreme-ultraviolet lithography, perform Swan Lake, and write all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-reed/evolution-writ-large-is-the-belief-that-a-cloud-of-hydrogen-will/) [Fred Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-reed/) > [We went to the British Museum, and I was looking up my family in the books - pages and pages on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lea/we-went-to-the-british-museum-and-i-was-looking-up-my-family-in-the/) [Nicholas Lea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lea/) > [The fact is that the British Museum had a complete specimen of a dodo in their collection up until the 18th century - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/the-fact-is-that-the-british-museum-had-a-complete-specimen-of-a-dodo/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [The 'Robben Island Bible' has arrived at the British Museum. 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Read superficially, the British Museum Library might still leave the student…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/read-properly-fewer-books-than-a-hundred-would-suffice-for-a-liberal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“but take away his poems and what does he have left? He wants to write more poems, enough to fill half the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nachoem-m-wijnberg/but-take-away-his-poems-and-what-does-he-have-left-he-wants-to-write/) [Nachoem M Wijnberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nachoem-m-wijnberg/) > [It's all the unwordable things one wants to write about, just as it's all the unformable things one wants to paint - essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/it-s-all-the-unwordable-things-one-wants-to-write-about-just-as-it-s/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) ## More by Anthony Trollope > [“I have from the first felt sure that the writer, when he sits down to commence his novel, should do so, not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-have-from-the-first-felt-sure-that-the-writer-when-he-sits-down-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Things to be done offer themselves, I suppose, because they are in themselves desirable; not because it is desirable to have something to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/things-to-be-done-offer-themselves-i-suppose-because-they-are-in/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/a-small-daily-task-if-it-be-really-daily-will-beat-the-labours-of-a/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [You men find so many angels in your travels. 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That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/it-is-necessary-to-get-a-lot-of-men-together-for-the-show-of-the/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“An accepted lover, who deserves to have been accepted, should devote every hour at his command to his mistress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/an-accepted-lover-who-deserves-to-have-been-accepted-should-devote/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Wine is valued by its price, not its flavour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/wine-is-valued-by-its-price-not-its-flavour/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“(On Charles Dickens) It has been the peculiarity and the marvel of this man’s power, that he has invested his puppets with a charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/on-charles-dickens-it-has-been-the-peculiarity-and-the-marvel-of-this/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [There is no road to wealth so easy and respectable as that of matrimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/there-is-no-road-to-wealth-so-easy-and-respectable-as-that-of/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [I hold that gentleman to be the best-dressed whose dress no one observes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-hold-that-gentleman-to-be-the-best-dressed-whose-dress-no-one/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [But mad people never die. That's a well-known fact. They've nothing to trouble them, and they live for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/but-mad-people-never-die-that-s-a-well-known-fact-they-ve-nothing-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Since woman's rights have come up a young woman is better able to fight her own battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/since-woman-s-rights-have-come-up-a-young-woman-is-better-able-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“The heroes of life are so much better than the heroes of romance,” said Caroline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-heroes-of-life-are-so-much-better-than-the-heroes-of-romance-said/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) [Explore all 448 Anthony Trollope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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