--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought it was a glorious thing to be a…" description: "\"I thought it was a glorious thing to be a critic and to be a literary editor, and one was really doing something that mattered: to keep up standards, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fce/claire-tomalin-8837_books_i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be_1575054.jpg" --- # I thought it was a glorious thing to be a critic and to be… ![“I thought it was a glorious thing to be a critic and to be a literary editor, and one was really doing something that mattered: to keep up standards, to take books seriously.” quote by Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fce/claire-tomalin-8837_books_i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be_1575054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fce/claire-tomalin-8837_books_i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be_1575054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fce/claire-tomalin-8837_books_i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be_1575054.jpg) > “I thought it was a glorious thing to be a critic and to be a literary editor, and one was really doing something that mattered: to keep up standards, to take books seriously.” [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects a belief that literary criticism and editing are vital for maintaining quality and seriousness in literature. **In simple terms:** Critics and editors help keep literature high‑quality. Key Takeaway Value and uphold literary standards. Themes literature criticism editing standards culture Mood reflective respectful Type professional thoughtful When to use this quote - publishing houses - book clubs - academic courses - media reviews Key Concepts Aesthetic judgment cultural stewardship Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance standards with openness to new forms? - What responsibilities do editors have to emerging writers? A Different Perspective Criticism can be elitist or stifle diverse voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [After university, I got a job sub-editing and for years I was a literary editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/after-university-i-got-a-job-sub-editing-and-for-years-i-was-a/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [It was not until I began to write a book called 'Light Years' that an editor really stepped in. The editor was Joe Fox…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/it-was-not-until-i-began-to-write-a-book-called-light-years-that-an/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Fiona McCrae is a really amazing editor. Really smart and very astute about what a story needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ru-freeman/fiona-mccrae-is-a-really-amazing-editor-really-smart-and-very-astute/) [Ru Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ru-freeman/) > [Edmund Wilson was our greatest American literary critic because he was more than a literary critic: He was a fearless, even radical judge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/edmund-wilson-was-our-greatest-american-literary-critic-because-he/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Most of my professional work has been in these areas - as a historical critic, as a literary critic. I've done very little in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hershel-shanks/most-of-my-professional-work-has-been-in-these-areas-as-a-historical/) [Hershel Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hershel-shanks/) > [To live fully your well-read life -at any age- it is essential to take your selection of books seriously. When you drift from book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-williams/to-live-fully-your-well-read-life-at-any-age-it-is-essential-to-take/) [Pat Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-williams/) > [“When I sit down with a novel in my hand I want to enjoy the experience. That means having fun. Too many books take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-j-callahan/when-i-sit-down-with-a-novel-in-my-hand-i-want-to-enjoy-the/) Clayton J. Callahan > [“To read books seriously is to be staggered by the knowledge of how many more books will remain beyond your ken. It’s like looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-falllows/to-read-books-seriously-is-to-be-staggered-by-the-knowledge-of-how/) James Falllows > [I think being an editor really helped me take other people's notes on my writing. I'd get a note like 'It's too wet' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-think-being-an-editor-really-helped-me-take-other-people-s-notes-on/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [The border between editing and ghostwriting is, at its extremes, a bit porous. An editor really improves and sometimes restructures a manuscript and suggests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-thurman/the-border-between-editing-and-ghostwriting-is-at-its-extremes-a-bit/) [Judith Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-thurman/) > [I always thought the editor should cut the film and so I'll come in and look at the movie. Just because that's the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-weir/i-always-thought-the-editor-should-cut-the-film-and-so-i-ll-come-in/) [Peter Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-weir/) > [And then my editor really likes that because he's left alone to do what...to create those things instead of me breathing over his shoulder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-stoller/and-then-my-editor-really-likes-that-because-he-s-left-alone-to-do/) [Nicholas Stoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-stoller/) > [I once had an editor advise me, as I was revising one of my early novels, to add more characters. I played around with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-sims/i-once-had-an-editor-advise-me-as-i-was-revising-one-of-my-early/) [Elizabeth Sims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-sims/) > [I loved editing, and being a cookbook editor is a really a great job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pavone/i-loved-editing-and-being-a-cookbook-editor-is-a-really-a-great-job/) [Chris Pavone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pavone/) > [I was working at the 'Evening Standard' when I heard that there was a job going as deputy literary editor on the 'New Statesman.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-was-working-at-the-evening-standard-when-i-heard-that-there-was-a/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) ## More by Claire Tomalin > [“Poor Nelly, she was not to know that fashions in sin change as much as other fashions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/poor-nelly-she-was-not-to-know-that-fashions-in-sin-change-as-much-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I always feel sad when I come to the end of a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-always-feel-sad-when-i-come-to-the-end-of-a-book/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I would like to have a more social life than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-would-like-to-have-a-more-social-life-than-i-have/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I continually get more information about a subject after the book has been published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-continually-get-more-information-about-a-subject-after-the-book-has/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I was working at the 'Evening Standard' when I heard that there was a job going as deputy literary editor on the 'New Statesman.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-was-working-at-the-evening-standard-when-i-heard-that-there-was-a/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I've behaved badly in my life. I hope I haven't behaved as badly as Dickens! In a way, if you're a woman, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-ve-behaved-badly-in-my-life-i-hope-i-haven-t-behaved-as-badly-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Simon Russell Beale is an incomparable speaker of Shakespeare and a superb all-round actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/simon-russell-beale-is-an-incomparable-speaker-of-shakespeare-and-a/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I sometimes think that, since I started writing biographies, I've had more of a life in books than I have had in my real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-sometimes-think-that-since-i-started-writing-biographies-i-ve-had/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Poetry was one of the things that interested me most as I was growing up. I used to write it in my head all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/poetry-was-one-of-the-things-that-interested-me-most-as-i-was-growing/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Biographers search for traces, for evidence of activity, for signs of movement, for letters, for diaries, for photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/biographers-search-for-traces-for-evidence-of-activity-for-signs-of/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [You become more tolerant when you become older. You're not interested in rapping people over the knuckles; you're interested in understanding them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/you-become-more-tolerant-when-you-become-older-you-re-not-interested/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Dickens is a lover of human beings; a relisher of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/dickens-is-a-lover-of-human-beings-a-relisher-of-human-beings/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Dickens never joined a political party nor put forward a political programme. He was a writer who rightly saw his power as coming through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/dickens-never-joined-a-political-party-nor-put-forward-a-political/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Throughout his life, Dickens cared passionately about orphans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/throughout-his-life-dickens-cared-passionately-about-orphans/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [It's a difficult thing to lose a child, a grown-up child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/it-s-a-difficult-thing-to-lose-a-child-a-grown-up-child/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) [Explore all 77 Claire Tomalin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I thought it was a glorious thing to be a critic and to be a literary editor, and one was really doing something that mattered: to keep up standards, to take books seriously.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claire Tomalin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be-a-critic-and-to-be-a-literary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be-a-critic-and-to-be-a-literary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fce/claire-tomalin-8837_books_i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be_1575054.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fce/claire-tomalin-8837_books_i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be_1575054.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fce/claire-tomalin-8837_books_i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be_1575054.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I thought it was a glorious thing to be a critic and to be a literary editor, and one was really doing…” — Claire Tomalin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Claire Tomalin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I thought it was a glorious...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be-a-critic-and-to-be-a-literary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be-a-critic-and-to-be-a-literary/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```