"France is not poetic she even feels, in fact, a congenital horror of poetry. Among the writers who use verse, those whom she will always prefer are the most prosaic."

"I consider it useless and tedious to represent what exists, because nothing that exists satisfies me. Nature is ugly, and I prefer the monsters of my fancy to what is positively trivial."

"For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation."

"There are as many kinds of beauty as there are habitual ways of seeking happiness."

"I write sets of books, but I've also written a lot of orphans."

"I like directing. It takes a lot out of you, but I'd like to do it again - I just have to find a story I want to tell."

"I had learning disabilities, and I couldn't express myself in the written word."

"The one word that makes a good manager - decisiveness."