“First impressions are the strongest of all, and once you have established in that way the character of one of your figures you will find it very hard to change it.”

A practical observation on characterisation and the lasting force of first impressions · The English Novel

• Character
• Imagination
• Writing

“For the Art of Writing is an affair as international as are all the other Arts—as International, as Co-operative and as mutually uniting.”

Writing belongs to a shared artistic tradition that crosses national borders · The English Novel

• Art
• Community
• Writing

“The appeal of the subject is nevertheless the only thing that is open to your native genius—the only thing as to which you can say: I cannot help it: that is what appealed to me.”

The deepest choice of subject arises from instinct rather than calculation · The English Novel

• Imagination
• Instinct
• Writing