A. N. Wilson
A. N. Wilson
Andrew Norman Wilson is an English writer and newspaper columnist, known for his critical biographies, novels, works of popular history and religious views. He is an occasional columnist for the Daily Mail and former columnist for the London Evening Standard, and has been an occasional contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman, The Spectator and The Observer...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth27 October 1950
humans human-love
Truth comes to us mediated by human love.
belief boring
I'm boring. My beliefs are neither here nor there.
queens kings eerie
It is eerie being all but alone in Westminster Abbey. Without the tourists, there are only the dead, many of them kings and queens. They speak powerfully and put my thoughts into vivid perspective.
cheer past political
In the past, I used to counter any such notions by asking myself: 'Would you really want President Hattersley?' I now find that possibility rather cheers me up. With his chubby, Dickensian features and his knowledge of T.H. Green and other harmless leftish political classics, Hattersley might not be such a bad thing after all.
class water people
In the 18th century, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny, and Richard Arkwright pioneered the water-propelled spinning frame which led to the mass production of cotton. This was truly revolutionary. The cotton manufacturers created a whole new class of people - the urban proletariat. The structure of society itself would never be the same.
writing shadow feels
Everyone writes in Tolstoy's shadow, whether one feels oneself to be Tolstoyan or not.
common anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism is extremely common.
jobs men marketing
The death of any man aged 56 is very sad for his widow and family. And no one would deny that Steve Jobs was a brilliant and highly innovative technician, with great business flair and marketing ability.
inspirational writing annoyed
If you know somebody is going to be awfully annoyed by something you write, that's obviously very satisfying, and if they howl with rage or cry, that's honey.
thinking might deceiving
I might be deceiving myself but I do not think that I do have an inordinate fear of death.
biographies lost lost-faith
I had lost faith in biography.
clever people want
The really clever people now want to be lawyers or journalists.
christian jesus sunday
When Christians start thinking about Jesus, things start breaking down, they lose their faith. It's perfectly possible to go to church every Sunday and not ask any questions, just because you like it as a way of life. They fear that if they ask questions they'll lose their Christ, the very linchpin of their religion.
sympathy christian doubters
I very much dislike the intolerance and moralism of many Christians, and feel more sympathy with Honest Doubters than with them.