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Portrait of A. N. Wilson

A. N. Wilson

(1950) Historian

76 quotes in 571 categories

A. N. Wilson reflects on fear of death, saying it never dominates his thoughts. He criticizes intolerance and moralism among many Christians, preferring honest doubters. He also notes that the National Socialist regime made some people happy, which he finds unsettling.

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A. N. Wilson is a historian.

Quick Facts About A. N. Wilson

Born: October 27, 1950
Profession: Historian

About A. N. Wilson

British poet, biographer, critic, journalist writer and newspaper columnist (1950-)... | Andrew Norman Wilson is an English writer and newspaper columnist known for his critical biographies, novels and works of popular history. He has written more than 30 books of non-fiction and more than 20 works of fiction. He is an occasional columnist for the Daily Mail, and a former columnist and

Quotes by A. N. Wilson

I had lost faith in biography.

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I wanted passionately to be a priest.

Catholic

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A busybody's work is never done.

Busybodies

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Anti-Semitism is extremely common.

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The approach of death certainly concentrates the mind.

Approach

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I don't write books inadvertently.

Book

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The scribbler's life is never done.

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I think I became a Catholic to annoy my father.

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The fact that logic cannot satisfy us awakens an almost insatiable hunger for the irrational.

Awakening

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If you imagine writing 1,000 words a day, which most journalists do, that would be a very long book a year.

Book

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I'm starting to realize that people are beginning to want to know about me. It's a jolly strange idea.

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I believe the collapse of the House of Windsor is tied in with the collapse of the Church of England.

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Fear of death has never played a large part in my consciousness - perhaps unimaginative of me.

Consciousness

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Everyone writes in Tolstoy's shadow, whether one feels oneself to be Tolstoyan or not.

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I'm like Jane Austen - I work on the corner of the dining table.

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The really clever people now want to be lawyers or journalists.

Clever

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Like many people in Britain, I have an affectionate respect for the Queen, and am surprised that I should be having such…

Affectionate

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IQ in general has improved since tests first began. Psychologists think that this is because modern life becomes ever more complicated.

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I should prefer to have a politician who regularly went to a massage parlour than one who promised a laptop computer for…

Computer

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I very much dislike the intolerance and moralism of many Christians, and feel more sympathy with Honest Doubters than with them.

Christian

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Reading about Queen Victoria has been a passion of mine since, as a child, I came across Laurence Housman's play 'Happy and…

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I suppose if I'd got a brilliant first and done research I might still be a don today, but I hope not.…

Brilliant

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I do not find it easy to articulate thoughts about religion. I remain the sort of person who turns off 'Thought for…

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If only Queen Elizabeth II had the intellectual, political and linguistic skills of Queen Elizabeth I, many people would support giving her…

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One symptom of his (Hitler) being strangely at variance with reality, or the nature of things,was his gift for wearing inappropriate of…

Army

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The Royal Family are not like you and me. They live in houses so big that you can walk round all day…

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When Christians start thinking about Jesus, things start breaking down, they lose their faith. It's perfectly possible to go to church every…

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In the past, I used to counter any such notions by asking myself: 'Would you really want President Hattersley?' I now find…

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My belief has come about in large measure because of the lives and examples of people I have known - not the…

Acceptance

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Nearly all monster stories depend for their success on Jack killing the Giant, Beowulf or St. George slaying the Dragon, Harry Potter…

Dragons

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In the 18th century, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny, and Richard Arkwright pioneered the water-propelled spinning frame which led to the…

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Of all liars the most arrogant are biographers: those who would have us believe, having surveyed a few boxes full of letters,…

Angel

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I've got nothing very original to say myself.

Creativity

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Truth comes to us mediated by human love.

Human love

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I'm boring. My beliefs are neither here nor there.

Belief

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I think one of the very frightening things about the regime of the National Socialists is that it made people happy.

Frightening

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The latest research has revealed that women have a higher IQ than men.

Feminism

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It is remarkable how easily children and grown-ups adapt to living in a dictatorship organised by lunatics.

Children

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In general, Hitler embodied the view of any popular newspaper.

Hitler

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I might be deceiving myself but I do not think that I do have an inordinate fear of death.

Death

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A. N. Wilson by topic

People (12) Life (10)