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The smell of the library was always the same – the musty odour of old clothes mixed with the keener scent of unwashed bodies, creating what the chief librarian had once described as "the steam of the social soup".

— Peter Ackroyd

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More quotes by Peter Ackroyd

I believe that the gods themselves are frightened of the world which they have fashioned.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

Only those with great ambitions know what great fears drive them forward.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

One can forgive Shakespeare anything, except one's own bad lines.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

The English can laugh and at the same time strike you down, without the least compunction. It is the secret of their success as a nation.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

He had the satisfied countenance of a man who has never succeeded in boring himself.

The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Peter Ackroyd (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.